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Owner Of Warren Asbestos Abatement Company To Stand Trial

(CBS DETROIT) - Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that the owner of an asbestos abatement company that did subcontracted work for the Detroit Land Bank Authority will stand trial.

Kevin Woods, the owner of BBEK Environmental, was arraigned in Feb. 2021. He waived his preliminary examination Thursday, and 37th District Court Judge John Chmura sent the case to trial.

Woods is set to stand trial on several felony charges that stem from a U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan investigation into the use of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds for demolitions.

He faces 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.

"I remain grateful for the thorough job done by our team and those at the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program on this case," Nessel said. "Those who skirt health safeguards and exploit business opportunities for illegal financial gain will be held accountable by this office."

Officials say in this case, Woods is accused of misrepresenting project costs to avoid paying more money to the state, 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.

A forensic review showed that Woods shorted the state out of $21,200 in fees from 2015 through 2019.

His circuit court arraignment is set for April 4 at 1:30 p.m.

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