Melayne Cromwell, Director of Contracts for ATI Government Solutions (Credit: OMG video clipping)
An explosive new undercover investigation by O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) released Monday on X has blown the lid off a massive federal contracting scandal, a $100 billion scheme exploiting taxpayer-funded minority-preference programs under the Biden Administration.
In a shocking undercover video posted on X, OMG revealed how ATI Government Solutions, a federal contractor supposedly “Native American-owned,” admitted to exploiting the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program to grab over $100 million in no-bid government contracts, while outsourcing up to 80% of the work to other firms.
“I tell you pass-throughs are a great thing!”
“We only do 20%… The rest goes to subs.”
“And remember, there’s no competition.”
James O’Keefe, posing as representatives from a fake cybersecurity firm called “Sev-Zero Solutions,” met Cromwell under the guise of hiring her catering side business.
Within minutes, the ATI executive bragged about how the company leverages its Native American tribal affiliation with the Susanville Indian Rancheria to obtain exclusive federal contracts, then turns around and pays subcontractors to do almost all the work.
O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) reported:
Within two minutes of sitting down with Melayne at a restaurant in Arlington, Virginia, she volunteered the entire scheme – no prompting, no hesitation. She told us she was the Director of Contracts for ATI Government Solutions. Then she dropped the real bombshell:
“Because we’re Native American-owned, we’re heavily favored for government contracts.” “There’s no bidding war.” Said Cromwell
She explained how ATI uses its tribal status to lock down multi-million dollar no-bid contracts, then passes off the majority of the work to subcontractors-firms that would never qualify on their own. Meanwhile, ATI keeps the lion’s share of the cash. Cromwell revealed to our undercover journalist;
“So, a lot of our subcontractors bid on contracts that were perfect in their industry, but because they weren’t Native American, they wouldn’t win it,” she said. “So we bid on it for them, they become our sub, and it’s an automatic win because you’re Native American status. There’s no bidding war.”
Under the 8(a) system, meant to empower disadvantaged businesses, “pass-through” contractors such as ATI serve as paper fronts, taking much of the money off the top while doing little or none of the work. Cromwell admitted the company performs only 20% of its multi-million-dollar no-bid federal contracts, subcontracting out the remaining 80% – a textbook case of a “pass-through” scheme.
“Correct. Yeah. They’re doing most of the work. But you want to really stay on, make sure they’re on time.”
“So, we do about 20% of the work.”
“You don’t want to share that,” – Cromwell added.
In short, ATI secures the contracts, gets the money, acts as a passthrough and it’s the tax payer who gets screwed over.
Firmadge Crutchfield (Credit: public domain)
On paper, ATI is owned by the Susanville Indian Rancheria, a federally recognized native american tribal entity, in northern california.
Arian confirmed to us that if they were to appear as the owners of our company it would make it easier to obtain government contracts, and goes on to claim that we may need to relinquish 51% of the ownership to them.
OMG Undercover Journalist: “So really, it’s really just coming up with a number that you would want in order to appear to be the owner of our company. So we’ll discuss what percentage you would get when we come to the signing of the contract.”
Scott Deutchman
Arian: “Some of that is, will be determined by the 8(a) corporation, So we may have to be like 51%”
Melayne confirms that ATI is abiding by this 51% tribal ownership…on paper.
“51% On paper. Correct. as long as it’s on paper. That you’re 51%, you’re good to go.” Said Cromwell.
ATI may be 51% tribally owned by the Susanville Indian Rancheria ON PAPER, But Melayne revealed to us that ATI was founded in collaboration with the Rancheria by two caucasian DC executives; Firmadge Crutchfeld and Scott Deutschman. And that they manage all of ATI’s operations.
In 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration awarded a record-breaking $183 billion in federal contracts to “small businesses,” including those under “socially disadvantaged” categories like 8(a).
But as the OMG exposé shows, many of these firms are front companies exploiting racial-preference loopholes to funnel billions to private consultants and politically connected insiders.
$100 Billion Federal Contracting Scam Exposed: 8(a) Firm Admits to Violating Federal Law, Using Minority-Owned Status as a Front to Obtain $100M+ No-Bid Government Contracts While Outsourcing 80% of the Work.
ATI Government Solutions Contract Manager, Melayne Cromwell Admits to… pic.twitter.com/Jxvkb2vNOA
— O’Keefe Media Group (@OKeefeMedia) October 20, 2025