Oakland County investigation: ZaydLogix contract broke state law

Oakland County supervisors knew a $450,000 service contract they authorised violated state legislation and the county’s personal battle of curiosity guidelines, an unbiased investigation discovered.

It is an instance of a “transfer quick and break issues” engineering philosophy.

In emails and paperwork obtained by The Oakland Press by a Freedom of Info request, county staff mentioned they “circumvented the method” after they authorised the three-year contract in June with ZaydLogix, a newly fashioned IT staffing firm that was a part of a county worker’s retirement plan.

Responding to a tip, a provincial investigation found the battle and canceled the contract in July.

The county then paid the legislation agency Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone $17,836 for an unbiased investigation and report.

The legislation agency interviewed county officers and staff and browse paperwork, emails and textual content messages.

Investigators discovered no proof of kickbacks or value manipulation, in keeping with the report from the legislation agency employed to analyze 130 firms that had prequalified for potential IT contracts, the report mentioned.

However from textual content messages and emails obtained by The Oakland Press, some county IT supervisors, staff and contractors knew there was a battle of curiosity and in some circumstances helped resolve which individuals ZaydLogix would rent for the contract.

Provincial staff could not have exterior contracts with the province. Shukur Mohammad, an functions architect within the province’s IT division since 1999, based ZaydLogix in 2024, bidding on a request for proposal issued final 12 months. The province signed a contract along with his firm on June 13.

On March 27, Chief Know-how Officer EJ Widun despatched a textual content message to Tom Wydra, who works for the province as a Blue Chip contractor. Widen’s textual content states that he met with Blue Chip officers to debate the ZaydLogix contract. Widun wrote that Blue Chip officers “need to be sure that this artistic answer won’t injury their relationship with the province as we beat across the bush.”

ZaydLogix texts_-_phone numbers_redacted

Wydra despatched an e-mail on June 17 to introduce Milwaukee-based Al Balda of name and marking firm The Concept4 to Mohammad in his position as founding father of ZaydLogix. Balda was later listed as a ZaydLogix contractor, incomes $150 per hour. Wydra additionally requested Mohammad to rent former Troy Police Chief Charles Craft, who makes a speciality of expertise. Craft would even be paid $150 an hour.

The legislation agency’s report states that the province didn’t make any cost for the contract and that Mohammad didn’t try to defraud the province. In line with the report, the province’s IT supervisors ought to have waited till Mohammad retired to execute the ZaydLogix contract.

Two deputy county executives shared particulars of the report with county commissioners throughout their Legislative and Governmental Operations Committee assembly Tuesday morning.

Walt Herzig, deputy director, and Sean Carlson, who manages expertise and financial growth, informed commissioners that the county won’t refer the case to prosecutors for felony prices — a misdemeanor beneath state legislation — based mostly on the report’s findings. Herzig mentioned.

Carlson mentioned the county has a historical past of utilizing a number of technical staffing companies to seek out the perfect certified contractors for particular short-term jobs. However within the drive for effectivity, he mentioned, “the ends don’t justify the means.”

ZaydLogix was certainly one of 130 expertise firms eligible for the province Courts and law enforcement management information systems (CLEMIS), which is remodeling from a provincial program to an unbiased authority.

The investigation discovered no proof of makes an attempt to defraud the province or of makes an attempt by staff or contractors to control costs for private achieve or the existence of a kickback scheme, however mentioned it “seems that CLEMIS managers used an ‘above the means’ strategy to retain particular, well-known people as contracted personnel for CLEMIS.”

HOW IT STARTED

In July, provincial officers have been tipped off by an nameless e-mail that ZaydLogix was owned by Mohammad.

Carlson instantly suspended the contract after a quick inner investigation. Zaydlogix acquired no provincial cash. The folks Zaydlogix employed have been transferred to different staffing firms with provincial contracts.

4 staff have been anticipated to be punished in July: three senior IT workers and one other worker. County officers didn’t reveal their names or specify the self-discipline, however choices ranged from an oral or written reprimand, withholding a elevate, suspending pay and/or a demotion or dismissal. Actions have been suspended till after the legislation agency’s report.

ZaydLogix LAST FINAL

County officers are usually not saying some other disciplinary actions because of the unbiased investigation, in keeping with county spokesman Invoice Mullan.

He mentioned a number of adjustments have been made within the quick aftermath of the ZaydLogix contract cancellation:

• All senior stage IT officers and administration have been skilled on battle of curiosity insurance policies, disclosures and requirements of conduct. The province now requires all staff to assessment requirements and insurance policies in the course of the medical health insurance enrollment season, which is now underway.

• IT and different departments that have been allowed to submit their very own contractor RFPs and display screen candidates have misplaced that capability. Sooner or later, the buying division will deal with all facets of recent contracts, from quote requests to the choice of contractors and signing contracts if crucial. It’s unclear which different departments independently issued requests for contract proposals.

• Potential bidders will probably be required to finish varieties to establish conflicts of curiosity. This kind has additionally been despatched to the remaining 129 bidders for IT contracts. All however 19 accomplished the shape and returned it to the province. The 19 who didn’t have been faraway from the county’s listing of prequalified contractors, Herzig mentioned, noting that removing was an ordinary observe and there was no suspicion of misconduct by these contractors, none of whom had lively county contracts.

In September 2024, the county employed Aaron Wagner because the county’s buying officer. He instituted new guidelines for contracts a 12 months in the past, however they have been carried out after ZaydLogix was authorised as a possible contractor.

On Tuesday, Carlson informed commissioners that the present CLEMIS contracts will probably be put out for bid once more in January. Present contracts will stay in impact till new contracts are accomplished. Mullan mentioned this can be sure that the CLEMIS transition will probably be uninterrupted.

MORE REPORT DETAILS

The report discovered that the province’s IT division had a typical observe of hiring a number of staffing companies to make sure that folks with the correct expertise may very well be employed on a contract foundation for particular initiatives. The county usually used five-year cycles to create these swimming pools of short-term staff and if the IT division selected to maneuver ahead, a contract could be made at the moment. Carlson mentioned Mohammad didn’t need to miss the five-year contract window earlier than his retirement. He and Herzig mentioned Mohammad nonetheless works for the county.

The 2024 request from the county IT division didn’t embody battle of curiosity language, Miller mentioned, Canfield’s report exhibits.

The report doesn’t say who reviewed ZaydLogix’s proposed contract, however “they didn’t imagine that approving ZaydLogix’s bid could be problematic as a result of the reviewer understood that the worker who owns ZaydLogix was contemplating retirement and that CLEMIS would quickly be a separate authority.”

Oakland County has 5,300 staff and a funds of practically $1.2 billion to handle 900 sq. miles of infrastructure and applications for 1.3 million residents.

This story will probably be up to date as new data turns into obtainable.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been up to date to make clear the 12 months Shukur Mohammad started working for Oakland County; Tom Wydra’s standing as a contract worker with the province and the standing of the 130 firms pre-approved for potential IT staffing contracts with the province.

Initially printed: October 21, 2025 at 1:01 PM EDT