Fort Lauderdale Roofing Exec Pleads Guilty To $3.5M Bid-Rigging Scheme
The former CEO of a Fort Lauderdale commercial roofing company pleaded guilty for his part in a multimillion-dollar bid-rigging conspiracy and could face up to 10 years in prison.
Gregg Wallick, who ran Best Roofing for more than two decades, pleaded guilty on Thursday to illegally earning more than $3.5M through a noncompetitive bidding scheme, the Department of Justice announced.
Wallick, whose company installed and repaired flat and sloped roofs on commercial facilities, worked with an unnamed roofing competitor to create fake bids for potential customers that would “suppress and eliminate competition,” according to criminal information filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Between September 2020 and February 2022, the companies predetermined which company would submit a higher bid to intentionally lose, so the other could walk away with the contract.
“Wallick’s actions illegally drove up the costs of commercial roofing projects by turning the multiple bid process on its head,” Brett Skiles, the special agent in charge of the FBI Miami Field Office, said in a statement. “Instead of providing truly competitive bids on roofing projects to prospective customers, he and his co-conspirators presented intentionally higher bids in a scheme to line their pockets with ill-gotten gains.”
Wallick pleaded guilty to one felony count of restraining trade by conspiring to rig bids and is facing up to 10 years in prison and a $1M criminal fine, followed by a maximum three-year supervised release.
The sentence hearing is scheduled for May 19 in Fort Lauderdale before Judge Raag Singhal, according to the documents.
“Bid rigging is cheating, plain and simple,” said Daniel Glad, the acting deputy assistant attorney of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, in a statement. “The defendant’s bid rigging scheme was an unfair, illegal cheat code used against vulnerable customers who needed roofing services in a hurricane-prone area, and the Antitrust Division’s commitment to finding and prosecuting these schemes is unbreakable.”
Best Roofing, which won Roofing Contractor’s 2018 Commercial Roofing Contractor of the Year, works across multiple sectors including multifamily, industrial, healthcare and residential, according to its website.
Some current projects include Brickell Place II Condominium, One Biscayne Tower and the Delano Hotel, which is undergoing renovations in Miami Beach, according to its website.
In 2024, when Wallick was still the head, the company landed an investment from New York-based investment service Harkness Capital Partners. At the time, Wallick and his son, Ian Wallick, who is the current chief operating officer of Best Roofing, said the company planned to build a new corporate headquarters in Palm Beach County.
Wallick, a University of Miami graduate, was named CEO in 2001 before leaving the company in January 2025, according to his LinkedIn. He now lists himself as a self-employed real estate investor.
Wallick’s attorney, Lazaro Fields with Continental PLLC, did not respond to a request for comment.
“Best Roofing has cooperated fully with the Department of Justice, and the conduct at issue in Mr. Wallick’s plea predates Best Roofing’s transition to new ownership in April 2024 and to new leadership in May 2024," A Best Roofing spokesperson said in a statement. "Since then, the Company has brought in new senior management, including appointing a new full-time CEO in January 2025, and invested heavily in enhancing our customer service, project management, and value delivery to our clients.
"We fully support the government’s efforts to ensure a fair and competitive market for the benefit of ethical contractors, and our clients, in the Florida market.”
UPDATE, FEB. 27 5:30 P.M. E.T.: This story has been updated to include a statement from Best Roofing.
