A new court filing provides a partial glimpse at the books of an embattled contractor. Chris Chmura reports.
He bragged about a $100M startup. He boasted about ‘taking over the country’ in business. He even bought a Bentley. But now, builder Colton Paulhus says he’s bankrupt.
The Fair Oaks CEO’s federal court filing for bankruptcy protection is another dose of reality for the many Bay Area homeowners who did business with Paulhus’s company, Anchored Tiny Homes.
“I just feel so cheated,” said customer Girija Subramanya in Cupertino.
Dozens of homeowners have shown NBC Bay Area how they have little or nothing to show, despite paying Anchored Tiny Homes tens of thousands of dollars each to build a backyard ADU. “They haven't told us where our money went,” said Alan Miller in Oakland.
In total, Paulhus’ petition for bankruptcy protection lists $3.6M in debt liabilities, versus $1,400 in cash. The filing shows he paid himself about a quarter million dollars a year. He is currently unemployed, according to the petition.
Paulhus listed several assets, though mortgages or loans were attached to them. Paulhus lists $1.8 million dollars worth of real estate near Sacramento, including two homes and one piece of land. He lists three vehicles: a $75,000 GMC pickup and an $80,000 Ford SUV -- both purchased just as his family business was going belly up -- plus a Bentley, a luxury car that he says is worth $106,000.
The bankruptcy doesn’t even come close to accounting for $100M, as Colton Paulhus has claimed about his ADU building business. That’s left stiffed subcontractors and customers asking the same question.
“I just want to know where my money went,” said customer Maria Djapounova in Walnut Creek.
We asked Colton Paulhus’ bankruptcy attorney to comment. The lawyer responded and said, “no thank you.”
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This is the second bankruptcy associated with Anchored Tiny Homes. Paulhus’ co-founder and brother, Austin Paulhus, recently filed for protection, too. His petition makes three references to taxpayer-backed Small Business Administration loans totaling $6.5M. So, customer Katie Lucas recently visited the FBI in San Francisco and asked federal agents to investigate.
“I want them to investigate the entire family,” Lucas said. “There’s a lot of evidence.
The FBI declined to confirm or deny any investigation, which it says is standard policy.
There is one more member of the Paulhus family listed on its contracting licenses: Austin and Colton’s dad, Scott. We have not seen any filings in Scott Paulhus’s name. The state has moved to revoke his contractor’s license, accusing him and his sons of taking too much money up front and abandoning projects.
