(WXYZ) — The owner of BBEK Environmental, a Warren-based asbestos abatement company, is facing several felony charges for allegedly misrepresenting project costs to avoid paying more to the state.
Kevin Woods is also charged with bribing a contractor to secure work for his company and violating state laws that require post-abatement air monitoring to be done by an independent entity, according to the Michigan Attorney General.
The investigation involving Woods, 50, of Harrison Township, comes from an investigation into the use of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds for demos by the Detroit Land Bank.
“While the complexities of this alleged financial crime cannot go unnoticed, I am grateful for the thorough work performed by my prosecutors and those at the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. “Our laws on the checks and balances in asbestos removal provide safeguards for the public’s health and anyone who violates those regulations puts our residents in harm’s way.”
In July 2019, Woods was suspended from participating in any Detroit Land Bank Authority contracts as well as doing any work for the City of Detroit.
The charges Woods faces include:
- Four counts of false pretenses over $100,000, a 20-year felony;
- One count of false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000, a five-year felony;
- One count of money laundering, a 10-year felony; and
- One count of bribery of an agent or employee, a one-year misdemeanor.
Woods turned himself into authorities Tuesday in Taylor and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in 37th District Court.
