The CEO of Anchored Tiny Homes is facing 35 felony charges after multiple customers say they paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, that were never finished.
Colton Paulhus appeared virtually Friday afternoon for his arraignment in Sacramento County. Homeowners who paid the Fair Oaks-based company were also in court, looking for answers about what happened to their money.
Janet Kaufman said her contract with Anchored Tiny Homes was for $222,000. Merle Simonsma said her contract was for about $300,000. Together, the two homeowners say they lost more than half a million dollars after agreeing to have Anchored Tiny Homes build an ADU.
“That’s where we all got gypped because everything we looked at was fabulous for Anchored Tiny Homes,” Kaufman said.
Anchored Tiny Homes promoted itself as a builder of quality ADUs. In 2024, customers in the Sacramento and Bay Area began noticing that work was not being completed on their projects. Subcontractors and employees were also not getting paid. At the time, Paulhus told ABC10 he was working to make things right.
“I just wanna kind of humbly come on here and say that I’m sorry to everybody,” Paulhus said in July 2024.
Shortly afterward, he closed the business and filed for bankruptcy, leaving homeowners wondering what would happen to their unfinished projects and their money.
“They took our money, spent it on something else, and abandoned projects. From that point on, I paid the subs, and we were building it for my 98-year-old father, and he died before it was finished,” Simonsma said.
On Friday, Paulhus appeared on Zoom for his arraignment and was charged with 35 felonies. A judge said Paulhus is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a crime, 33 counts of wrongful diversion of funds and one count of willful theft of employee wages.
During the court proceeding, ABC10 also learned that Paulhus’ brother, Austin Paulhus, turned himself in to the Sacramento County Jail on similar charges.
Simonsma said he does not expect to see any money from the case, but said that is not why she wants to see Paulhus held criminally responsible.
“I won’t see any money. That isn’t what this is about. This is about holding someone criminally liable for what they caused,” Simonsma said.
Kaufman said she hopes the case sends a lasting message.
“I just want the nonsense to stop with this company and any other companies that are doing this to, to all of us,” Kaufman said.
ABC10 reached out to Paulhus’ attorney and the district attorney for interviews. Both declined. ABC10 also reached out to Austin Paulhus for an interview. He had not responded.
Watch more from ABC10: Former customers of Anchored Tiny Homes call for justice as bankruptcy case continues