Undercover footage shows ATI Senior Director Anish Abraham detailing Federal Government Contracting Fraud & how their 8a “Native-Owned” acts as a shield against accountability.
“So the new contract is basically close to $100M”
“65% for us…and 35% (for subcontractor).”
“I don’t think they will dare to touch the Native Americans.”
“Yeah. Passthrough.”
In our previous investigation, O’Keefe Media Group exposed how ATI Government Solutions – a technology contractor claiming Native American 8(a) small business status – is operated almost entirely by non-Native executives in Washington, D.C. The leadership includes CEO Firmadge Crutchfield, CFO Marina Mulyayeva (his wife and former Olympic swimmer), and CDO Scott Deuschman. The Susanville Indian Rancheria appears only as a 51% paper owner.
This ownership claim unlocks hundreds of millions in taxpayer-funded federal contracts intended for minority-owned small businesses. But behind the facade, ATI outsources as much as 80% of the labor to subcontractors – well beyond the legal 50% threshold – while retaining the bulk of the profits.
Part 2 of our undercover investigation reveals ATI Government Solutions Senior Director Anish Abraham detailing the scheme. This latest revelation exposes how ATI, a supposed Native American-owned contractor, acts as a front to siphon taxpayer millions meant for “socially & economically disadvantaged” businesses, violating federal law and fueling a multi-billion-dollar scam. Abraham reveals how ATI outsources a majority of the work to the global services company Accenture.
A $100 Million Contract – But Who’s Doing the Work?
Anish Abraham thought he was attending a job interview with Sev Zero Solutions, a fictitious cybersecurity firm created by OMG, complete with a professional website and a $400,000 salary offer. In a candid meeting, Abraham walked us through ATI’s latest federal contract.
“So the new contract that we’ve signed up for is basically close to $100 million,” Abraham said.
“We have the prime contract, but Accenture will be the subcontractor.”
When asked how the money breaks down:
“Currently, the proposal that we’ve given is like, I think, 65–35… 65% for us being the prime fulfilling, and then 35 for Accenture.”
ATI, according to Abraham, will retain $65 million while performing little of the work. Accenture – a global consulting firm based in Ireland and not eligible for 8(a) contracts – will do the bulk of the labor.
This directly contradicts SBA regulations, which state that 8(a) prime contractors must perform the “primary and vital” parts of the contract and cannot be “unusually reliant” on subcontractors. Outsourcing more than 50% to a non-8(a) firm could be considered wire fraud.
When pressed further Abraham revealed,
OMG Undercover Journalist: “You just manage these Accenture people… you don’t do the job?”
Abraham: “Yeah, yeah,”
OMG Undercover Journalist: “It’s almost like you’re a pass-through,”
Abraham: “Yeah, pass-through,”
Abraham even acknowledges that the native-owned status is like a layer of protection against doge cuts.
“I don’t think they will dare to touch the native Americans.”
When our journalist posed as a minority woman looking to mimic ATI’s model:
OMG Undercover Journalist: “I can be just a pass-through company like ATI,”
Abraham: “That’s what’s… Honestly, that’s… In reality, that’s what’s happening,”
“That might not be the outside perspective, but yeah.” Said Abraham.
He added, “We’re not talking about it at my firm… but yeah.”
OMG secured a second meeting with Melayne Cromwell, former Director of Contracts at ATI, who had recently been let go. She now focuses on her catering business full-time – but offered new insights into ATI’s inner workings.
On illegal “pass-through” practices:
“You can’t just be a pass-through… There’s some that do it, but you don’t do it on a large scale,” she said.
“You put the bid in as if you’re going to be doing all this, and it’s mostly the sub who has the experience… that’s going to come back at you.”
Cromwell also disclosed that ATI sometimes has subcontractors begin work before the official contract start date.
“Once you know you’re going to win something… you just start working,” she explained.
“When the government cuts you a check… you can’t backdate the money.”
Cromwell questioned these practices, she claims ATI CFO Marina Mulyayeva would issue stop-work orders in Cromwell’s name—potentially exposing her to legal liability.
“There was an occasion… where Marina would send the letter on my behalf.
On my behalf… so who’s name is at the bottom?”
“Your name.”
“Yep.”
The Fake Office and the Real Money
In a follow-up meeting, Abraham revealed that ATI operates with little to no physical infrastructure.
OMG Undercover Journalist: “You don’t really have an office, do you?” we asked.
“You don’t have to do office spaces. Don’t spend the rent,” he said.
“Renting a space for short duration, that’s what we do… Suppose you want a client meeting or something.”
He rejected the label “shell company,” but admitted:
“They have the minority status, so the government has this thing to give it to them. And now they will have to run it, and they make sure that the work gets done.”
When we joked that government reforms might someday eliminate these pass-through middlemen:
“I don’t think they will dare to touch the Native Americans,” Abraham said.
A Lucrative Scheme
Abraham also shared his own salary—$350,000 annually—and said his supervisor makes “a little over a million.” These executives earn more than neurosurgeons while performing administrative oversight of labor they outsource.
“You fly under the radar, you take 65%, and nobody even knows your name,” our journalist noted.
“But they make good money though,” Abraham nodded.
