DETROIT – Federal investigators say a former Detroit Transportation Corporation Procurement Director and the owner of a restoration company conspired to defraud the corporation that operates the downtown People Mover.
They’re accused of being paid for work that wasn’t done.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in a case unsealed Tuesday, June 2, 2026, charges Michael Norman Anderson, 55, and Terrence Parker, 51, with conspiracy and Federal Program Theft or Bribery.
The FBI and Detroit Police Department began investigating whether Anderson, “using his official position,” and Parker defrauded the DTC through “creating, submitting, and receiving payment on invoices for work not performed.”
The DTC, created by the City of Detroit to operate the People Mover, is funded primarily by the City of Detroit, and has received “more than $10,000 in federal assistance during any one year,” the feds said. However, the City of Detroit told Local 4 the DTC and the People Mover are not overseen by the city.
Background on Anderson and Parker
Anderson worked for the DTC from March 28, 2022, to April 25, 2025, and was fired for “conduct unrelated to the current criminal investigation,” the complaint said.
Local 4 spoke with multiple people at the DTC on Tuesday, and they confirmed he no longer works there, although Anderson’s LinkedIn page has not been updated.
As Strategic Sourcing and Procurement Director, federal investigators said Anderson reviewed proposals, helped choose vendors, and signed off on invoices “to verify that the work had been completed” before a purchase order was requested and accounting issued payment.
Records show Parker owns and operates Total Care Restoration (TCR), along with several other LLCs, including Grodt Group Management, LLC, Water System Solutions, LLC, Detroit Helping Hands, and Smooveliving LLC. All are reportedly in active status except Detroit Helping Hands.
The feds described TCR as a company that performed restoration work on homes damaged by fire, water, windstorms, and similar events.
Investigators said they found “no indication” that Parker or anyone at TCR had experience or knowledge in information technology, and that TCR “never submitted a bid proposal” to the DTC and did not sign any contracts with the DTC.
The alleged fraud scheme
Still, from about Feb. 14, 2023, to March 11, 2025, the DTC paid $304,911.67 on 23 invoices from TCR, 22 of which were charged for IT work, the FBI said.
“Anderson approved the invoices, and Parker deposited the checks into TCR’s bank account,” a Special Agent said in the complaint, adding that TCR “did not submit any invoices or receive any payments before Anderson was hired” and “did not submit any invoices or receive any payments after Anderson was fired.”
Early on, investigators said TCR billed the DTC on four invoices dated between Jan. 5, 2023, and April 5, 2023, for monitor repairs at the DTC’s main control facility, invoices Anderson allegedly signed. But the DTC allegedly had no record of TCR performing any monitor repair work.
The DTC then issued four checks totaling $15,800, which Parker deposited into TCR’s account, according to the feds.
TCR invoices described work that was already contracted to three IT companies Anderson managed for DTC, and representatives from all three said they did not subcontract or assign any work to TCR.
Investigators also noted that “most of TCR’s invoices contained a charge for ‘debris removal.’” The feds pointed out that debris removal is clearly uncommon in IT work.
In another example, TCR invoiced the DTC $19,450 to “reconfigure” user and network information for another company, but that company allegedly said it had no relationship with, transactions with, or knowledge of Total Care Restoration.
Investigators also pointed to an invoice for a third company, which DTC contracted to run fiber-optic cable.
At least three times, TCR invoiced for work covered under that company’s contract, but that company allegedly told investigators it used no subcontractors on its DTC contract and “specifically, never used TCR.”
Emails, calls, texts and checks
Among the files provided by the DTC from Anderson’s work computer and shared drives, investigators said they found a February 2023 email exchange between Anderson and an Allstate claims adjuster.
The FBI said Anderson submitted a mitigation proposal and invoice to Allstate “on behalf of TCR,” and that the invoice contained “the same distinctive yellow bar” seen on invoices TCR later submitted to the DTC.
The signature block, investigators said, read: “Mike Anderson Jr, Total Care Restoration.”
They also said the email exchange began the day after the DTC issued its first check to TCR.
After the feds reviewed Anderson’s DTC email account, they said they did not find any emails from TCR or Parker submitting invoices, something notable, as vendors typically emailed invoices after completing work.
Phone records, the feds said, also show Anderson and Parker had 317 voice calls and 1,395 text messages between Feb. 14, 2023, and March 11, 2025.
They communicated by phone “either the day before, the day of, and/or the day after.”
Twenty of the 23 checks were issued from DTC to TCR, and they had extensive contact before and after Anderson worked at the DTC.
Bank activity also raised concerns, the FBI said. Parker would deposit DTC checks into TCR’s business account and “often withdraw a portion of the deposit in cash,” while Anderson “many times deposited cash into his bank account” on the day of Parker’s withdrawals or within a week.
One example was on Aug. 16, 2024: Parker allegedly deposited a DTC check for $23,934 and withdrew $18,000 in cash, while Anderson made smaller cash deposits that day and over the next several days.
Local 4 made multiple attempts to reach Anderson, Parker, and the DTC. We are awaiting comment.