Multiple documents on websites run by public institutions in China were found to feature fake names and people, a pattern state media warned could harm government credibility and provide a haven for corruption.

The series of blunders unfolded when internet users on December 3 found that a tender document listed what appeared to be a fake judging panel, with the names of all five members coinciding with the first five entries on Baidu’s “10,000 Popular Chinese Names” archive. The proposal was submitted to the housing and urban-rural development bureau of Zhuxi county in the central province of Hubei.

The document from construction company Hubei Runtu Bidding Agency helped it win a 31.88 million yuan (US$4.5 million) contract from the government, according to official records.

According to the Beijing News, the same fake names also appeared on a bidding document from the company in February, winning them another project worth 34 million yuan. According to public records, Runtu Bidding Agency has won 15 project bids worth a total of 586 million yuan this year.

On Friday, an investigation by Shiyan city, which oversees Zhuxi county, concluded that Runtu Bidding Agency, a state-owned enterprise, also made up fake projects to obtain 5 million yuan with the help of the county’s housing and urban-rural development bureau.

The investigation did not find any payments made to individuals during the process. But three local officials have been dismissed and more were punished, according to Shiyan authorities.