Grant Township builder faces multiple fraud charges

Daniel Siefka

Grant Township builder faces multiple fraud charges

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief

LUDINGTON — A Grant Township builder is facing two felony counts of fraudulent use of building contract funds by a contractor. Daniel James Siefka, 33, who owns Legacy Building Group, LLC of 62 W. Freeman Road, was arraigned Wednesday, Jan. 10, in 79th District Court on offenses that date back to 2021 and 2022.

Siefka has also used the business name of Hot Shot Builders LLC and Beyond the Call Contracting, LLC. In addition to the two felony charges in Mason County, Siefka and his wife, Lydia, 32, have or have had court cases in Antrim, Manistee, Oceana and Muskegon counties as well as in the U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan. According to equalization records, Lydia Siefka’s last known local mailing address is 212 W. Hoague Road, Grant Township. However, that property is owned by Shelby State Bank, which likely means the property is in foreclosure.

A criminal case filed by Ludington Police Department, which resulted in one of the recent counts against him, accuses Daniel Siefka of defrauding a Ludington couple of $184,884 after the couple hired Siefka to renovate their home. Sheriff Kim Cole confirmed that the other Mason County charges come as a result of an investigation by the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.

MCP does not list the names of victims in criminal court cases unless it receives consent.

According to a LPD police report obtained by MCP through the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, the Ludington couple wrote Siefka two checks on Sept. 17, 2021 in the amounts of $45,000 and $78,884. Siefka began working the construction project on Nov. 15, 2021. The couple needed to move out of their home due to the demolition. On June 7, 2022 the couple wrote Sieka another check for $65,000, because he said he needed more money to continue the project. The last time the couple saw Siefka or any of his workers was July 2022, according to the police report.

According to the couple, they found out that Siefka had moved to Colorado. They attempted to call him 15 to 20 times.

“They said that the phone would go to voicemail, and the mailbox would be full,” the report stated.

“(The victim) showed me Hot Shot Builder’s website. On the website it shows staff members, two of the people have the same picture. The picture on the website, and the Facebook picture of Daniel were different,” the report stated.

A Google search for Hot Shot Builders no longer shows an active website. However, website, legacybldggroup.com, shows a business based out of Denver with high end construction projects. No information is provided in the “About Us” section of the website.

The police report stated that Siefka had placed a lien on the victims’ house at Carter Lumber of Amber Township. He did not pay the lumber company $28,113.87, which the victims ended up having to pay the lumber company.

After several attempts, Ludington Police Officer Luke Postma finally made contact with Siefka by phone. According to the report, Siefka said he was working with a secondary contractor. When Postma contacted the other contractor, that person stated that he had been hired directly by the victims to try to continue the project, but had no contact with Siefka.

An employee of Legacy Builders had told the secondary contractor that most of the materials at the victims’ site was leftover material from other jobs, according to the police report.

According to an article in the Manistee News Advocate published in September 2023, a group of eight people, from various northern Michigan towns, were interviewed about their experiences with the Siefkas.

Kelly Newell, of Gaylord, who was part of the group interviewed, stated that since contacting victims of the Siekas, she had heard from people from Manistee, Antrim, Grand Traverse, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, Otsego and Wexford counties.

The Siefkas had been living in Colorado. According to Sheriff Cole, Daniel Siefka had been arrested on charges in Colorado, posted bond and then returned to Mason County where he turned himself in.

There have been at least 18 cases filed against Daniel and Lydia Siefka or their businesses. Daniel Siefka has had criminal warrants against him in Antrim County, Mason County, and Muskegon County.

An Oceana County couple sued Siefka in a civil case and Sieka was ordered to pay $882,506. In Manistee County, Siefka and his company were ordered to pay the plaintiff $166,403.55.

There have been multiple civil cases filed against both Daniel and Lydia Siefka in Mason County. The cases involve a variety of issues including fraud, forfeiture of land contracts and evictions. They have been sued locally by businesses Standard Lumber and Zeeland Lumber and Supply. He also faces criminal charges in Antrim and Muskegon counties. There have been at least three bankruptcy cases involving Siefka in Western Michigan District’s bankruptcy court in Grand Rapids.

The Siefkas are connected with multiple businesses.  They include:

• Beyond the Call Contracting, LLC, 62 W. Freeman Road, Grant Township; Daniel Siefka of the same address, resident agent. Dissolved on Dec. 31, 2019.
• Hotshot Builders, LLC, 10275 N. US 31, Grant Township; Lydia Siefka, of the same address, resident agent. The property address is owned by Nina E. Pearce.
• Hotshot Services, LLC, 62 W. Freeman Rd., Grant Township; Lydia Siefka, resident agent of 212 W. Hoague Rd., Grant Township.
• Legacy Building Group, LLC, 62 W. Freeman Rd., Grant Township; Lydia Siefka, 62 W. Freeman Rd., Grant Township, resident agent.
• Lesraa Holdings, LLC, 212 W. Hoague Rd., Grant Township; Lydia Siefka, of the same address, resident agent.
• Promise Land Holdings, LLC, 62 W. Freeman Rd., Grant Township; Daniel Siefka, of the same address, resident agent.
• Spray Foam Solutions, LLC, 62 W. Freeman Rd., Grant Township; Lydia Siefka, of the same address, resident agent.
• West Michigan Custom Exteriors, Inc., 62 W. Freeman Rd., Grant Township; Daniel Siefka, of the same address, resident agent.
• West Wind Stables, LLC, 62 W. Freeman Rd., Grant Township; Lydia Siefka, of the same address, resident agent.
• West Shore Soccer League, 2222 W. Grand River Ave., Suite A, Okemos; Daniel Siefka is listed as a director with a local organization address of PO Box 706, Ludington.

Sieka is scheduled to appear in 79th District Court on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 1:30 p.m. Bond was set by the Mason County magistrate at $10,000 cash for each count, according to Sheriff Cole.

Editor’s Note: Mason County Press has requested the recent police report from the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, under FOIA. Once that information and other information is obtained, an additional article will be published. 

This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2024, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.

Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals. Three ways to help us: Venmo: @MasonCountyPress; Paypal: MasonCountyPress@gmail.com; Mail a check to PO BOX 21, Scottville, MI 49454.

fb.com/stars