The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office has filed criminal charges against the co-founders of the newly defunct Anchored Tiny Homes, a company that once billed itself as a builder of accessory dwelling units, or ADUs.
Austin brothers James Paulhus and Colton Scott Paulhus face 35 criminal charges for conspiring together to embezzle construction funds, according to a complaint.
Prosecutors alleged that the co-founders of Anchored Tiny Homes billed customers and received payment of more than $1 million in installments for 13 separate construction projects “despite performing no work and providing no materials.”
Anchored Tiny Homes, with some exceptions, has been closed without notice to customers.
Click here to view the full documents.
In September 2024, Renee Kumamoto told KCRA 3 she hired the Fair Oaks-based company to build an ADU in her backyard. She paid Anchored Tiny Homes $168,000 to build the unit.
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The planned construction was based on his father’s battle with cancer. She had planned to move him into the small house, but the company suddenly closed before starting work.
“The time I sent my last bill at the time of the shutdown was less than two and a half weeks. It’s crazy,” Kumamoto said.
Another woman named Katie Lucas told KCRA 3 in 2024 that she paid the company $211,000 and was left with an unfinished project.
“It’s so heartbreaking and you feel really helpless,” Lucas said.
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