FORSYTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WLUC) – A Gwinn man is accused of defrauding several customers in Forsyth Township by taking payments for saunas and repair work without delivering the products or services.
Michael Alan Sivula, 48, of Gwinn was arrested on Aug. 16 on multiple warrants for theft and false pretenses. He is charged in Marquette County District Court with five felonies in three separate cases: three counts of false pretenses over $1,000 but less than $20,000 and two counts of using computers to commit a crime.
TV6 requested the criminal charges against Sivula from the Forsyth Township Police Department. According to these documents, three different victims were affected by Sivula’s alleged fraud between October 2023 and April 2024.
The complaint states that the first victim to file a complaint against Sivula was a man who made a $1,500 deposit in October 2023 for a 7×7 sauna that Sivula was promoting on social media. The complainant said he received a receipt for his deposit but never received the sauna. Communication between the two continued until June 2024, when the complainant reported Sivula’s business, Lake Superior Sauna Company, to the Better Business Bureau.
The victim said that in the months between the deposit and the filing of the complaint, Sivula continued to make various excuses as to why the sauna could not be delivered. After the man filed a complaint with the Forsyth Township Police Department in late June, the police report said an investigator attempted to reach Sivula by phone call and text message but never received a response.
The second victim to file a complaint was a woman who decided to order a custom sauna from Lake Superior Sauna Company in December 2023. After receiving a $16,300 estimate, she paid a requested $7,500 deposit. The agreement stated the sauna would be built and delivered by spring 2024. However, the woman said Sivula avoided questions for an update on the sauna’s status in the coming months.
Then, in April, she received a photo from Sivula of a trailer full of wood. He claimed it was for the sauna she had purchased, but a friend who knew about Sivula’s activities told her it was for something else entirely. After Sivula cut off contact with her in July, she filed a complaint in August.
The third victim in the police report was an elderly woman who, according to her daughter, Sivula, paid a check for $3,000 to replace a garage door in April of this year. The woman’s daughter said Sivula never completed the work and her mother had to hire another contractor to do it, costing her another $3,400. According to the victim’s daughter, Sivula repeatedly told the woman he would return the money to her, but that still hadn’t happened by August when the daughter decided to file a police report.
In all three cases, Sivula will appear in Marquette County District Court for a probable cause hearing on August 29 and again for a preliminary hearing on September 5 at 10:00 a.m.
Sivula had another fraud case in Marquette County District Court two years ago. In that case, he was charged with misrepresentation in the amount of $1,000 but less than $20,000. Two more counts were added in court – fraudulent use of a construction contract fund and theft by embezzlement of an amount between $200 and $1,000.
Both the first and second charges were dismissed by nolle prosequi. He pleaded guilty to theft by embezzlement and will be sentenced on October 1 of this year.
TV6 has requested the criminal complaint for this case to understand how these charges came about. We will update this story as soon as that information becomes available.
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