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Bankrupt builder faces charges
By JENNIFER FARRELL © St. Petersburg Times, published February 21, 2001 Prosecutors with the State Attorney's Office filed a charge of organized fraud Tuesday against Steven Bultema, president of Lighthouse Building Co., the Spring Hill firm that filed for bankruptcy in November 1999 with 81 homes under construction in Hernando, Pasco and Citrus counties. Assistant State Attorney John Norman said he expected Bultema, 44, who lives in Tennessee, to turn himself in to authorities in Hernando County. Once that happens, Norman said, Bultema will be released without having to post bail. Norman said he didn't ask for bond so any money Bultema might have could go toward restitution, rather than a bondsman's fee. "There's no way this guy wouldn't appear in court," Norman said. "He was no flight risk." With the first-degree felony charge, prosecutors accuse Bultema of scheming to commit a series of thefts by taking deposits and bank draws from customers, then diverting the money for "improper purposes." Of the 81 homeowners who got burned when the company went out of business, 15 are named victims in the case, with about $400,000 lost among them. Norman said 24 more homeowners filed criminal complaints, and they lost an additional $400,000, but not enough evidence exists to prove those cases. To show fraud, the state has to prove that at the time he took the money, Bultema intended to give customers nothing in return. "As difficult as it is for me to tell that to somebody who lost $20,000 or $30,000, I can't change the rules," Norman said. "The law is what the law is, and the law requires that we prove criminal intent." The named victims, Norman said, fall into three categories. First, there are people who made down payments and received nothing. A second group paid but got little more than a cleared lot. Finally, there are those who paid Bultema and had some work done, but then found themselves strapped with liens from subcontractors when Lighthouse went out of business. "These are very difficult cases, and they're very tragic cases," Norman said. "A lot of our victims are elderly." While Marilyn and Fred Becker are not exactly elderly -- she's 54 and he's 59 -- the couple's retirement plans were thrown into disarray when Lighthouse collapsed. After handing over $34,190 for a new home in Spring Hill, the couple ended up with a cleared lot, a concrete slab, a pile of trusses and $11,000 in liens. They are happy to be among the named victims but skeptical Bultema will suffer any consequences or be able to pay them back. "That $34,000 is gone, and we'll probably never see it again," Becker said. Patricia and Jerome Tucker lost more than $40,000 and were left with a house in Hudson that was only half-complete. But they were not among the victims named by prosecutors. They are placing their hopes in a pending lawsuit filed jointly by a group of homeowners. "He left us in a hole," said Mrs. Tucker, 54. "I hope something good comes out of this. It's still hurting." In September, a judgment was filed against Lighthouse in the lawsuit, which targets the company, Bultema, and his brother-in-law, Ricky Jung, who served as vice president of Lighthouse. Jung was not charged in the criminal case. Bultema's lawyer, Jimmy Brown, has said his client is eager to resolve the matter, though it will be impossible to repay 100 percent of the losses. Brown has blamed a hasty expansion and unsophisticated business management for Lighthouse's collapse. Bultema, who Norman said has no previous record, faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison if convicted of organized fraud. Norman said it is too soon to predict the outcome. "I'm going to see what the victims want," he said. "That's our prime consideration at this point."
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