Attorney General charges consulting company’s president with felony over Detroit Land Bank billing practices
LANSING, Dec. 15, 2015 – Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced charges of felony attempted false pretenses for ADR Consulting, LLC President Barry Ellentuck, 53, of West Bloomfield. The charges stem from alleged false billing statements ADR provided to the Detroit Land Bank for asbestos inspections, asbestos abatement letters and other services for demolitions of abandoned homes in the City of Detroit.
The Michigan Land Bank and ADR entered into a contract that would pay ADR $55 an hour for services related to demolition. The Michigan Land Bank and Detroit Land Bank had an intergovernmental agreement for demolition services in Detroit. Upon receiving bills from ADR, the Michigan Land Bank and Detroit Land Bank noticed alleged inconsistencies in the work completed versus hours billed. Upon returning the bills to Ellentuck for explanation, Ellentuck allegedly pressured an employee to falsify documents to maintain the appearance that the overbilling of more than 100 excess hours to the Detroit Land Bank was accurate.
“As Detroit continues to rebound, it is imperative that we not allow anyone to stand in the way of the progress we are seeing,” said Schuette. “We cannot allow criminal behavior in the new Detroit.”
Neither the Michigan Land Bank nor the Detroit Land Bank paid Ellentuck for his allegedly overbilled amount.
Ellentuck is charged with one count of attempted false pretenses with intent to defraud $1,000-$20,000, a two-and-a-half-year felony.
A warrant was issued for Ellentuck, and he appeared in court on Friday and pled not guilty.
Schuette’s office notes, “A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.”
ADR Consulting and Ellentuck have since issued a statement denying the charges and saying, “We are confident that this politically motivated attack on ADR and Mr. Ellentuck will be resolved in [our] favor.”
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