Jesse Van Boxtel, owner of Millennium Construction, is charged with multiple county of theft by contractor greater than $100,000, along with wire fraud and loan fraud. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — An Oshkosh man is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from businesses he was supposed to help build.
Multiple counties, multiple victims and now, multiple charges.
Authorities began investigating Jesse Van Boxtel’s business practices almost three years ago, uncovering what they called a Ponzi scheme. The 46-year-old, who is listed as the owner of Millennium Construction, allegedly used money earmarked for construction projects in multiple counties to make lavish purchases for himself.
“I don’t think it’s right that somebody can take your money and live the high life out in another state or multiple different places and vacation all the time, while I’m physically working my business and trying to make it better, and someone takes it from you,” said Geri Guyette.
But that’s exactly what investigators say VanBoxtel did to Guyette, the owner of the Black Otter Supper Club in Hortonville, along with other businesses in Brown, Door, Outagamie and Winnebago counties.
According to the criminal complaint, the owner of the $25 million Duck Creek Landing complex in Howard hired Millennium Construction, owned by Van Boxtel, to build several multi-unit apartment buildings.
As the first building was being constructed, subcontractors told the owner that Millennium Construction had not paid them for their work. That’s despite Millennium Construction receiving more than $3 million.
In 2023, the owner of Duck Creek Landing filed a complaint with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, alleging contractor misconduct. That complaint, according to investigators, opened the flood gates to what they believe is one of the largest cases of theft by contractor they’ve ever seen.
“Through our investigation, we were able to get Millennium’s banking records, which showed that they were working on multiple projects in which the money from the projects was commingled into one account, and that there was payments from that account that were spent on personal things or things not related to the project,” said Sgt. Det. Michael Horst with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators say that’s against the law.
The criminal complaint alleges more than $400,000 of the $3.2 million paid to Millennium Construction for Duck Creek Landing was used to pay expenses on other projects, or for business or personal obligations for the benefit of Van Boxtel.
The complaint also shows in June 2023 — with more than a million dollars from the Duck Creek Landing project unaccounted for and subcontractors still unpaid — Van Boxtel requested a $250,000 transfer from the Millennium Construction account to a title and escrow company in Hawaii.
The funds were used to purchase a nearly $5 million home in Lahaina.
Horst said, “Wisconsin State Statute clearly indicates that a trust must be held for the money for a project, and it cannot be used for any other reason but for that project until all money is paid on that project.”
The Black Otter Supper Club, which serves roughly 80,000 people a year and employs 90 workers, hired Millennium Construction for an expansion project in 2021.
According to Guyette, “The project was around $615,000, and then we had an extra $95,000 for backup.”
Guyette said from the beginning, the project was a headache. Following excuses that led to delays, once work finally began, she said the craftsmanship was terrible.
The restaurant’s flat roof was pitched back into the building, causing water damage. Siding was not properly fastened and was falling off. Floors weren’t installed correctly. Heating and air conditioning issues were created and never fixed.
“And I should have known right away, and my first thing to the general contractor was as soon as the wheelchair ramp was poured, it was crooked, at a slant, and I said, ‘How is someone gonna take a wheelchair up that?’ And I said, ‘If this is how our project’s gonna go, this isn’t a good sign, right?’ I was joking, not knowing our project was gonna be a disaster,” said Guyette.
The shoddy work, however, was only the beginning. A project that should have been completed in four to six months carried on for years, was over budget and, like Duck Creek Landing, subcontractors weren’t being paid.
Guyette finally requested a face-to-face meeting with their project manager, who at the time worked for Van Boxtel.
She recalled the conversation, saying, “I said, ‘We are well over what we were quoted.’ And he said, ‘I won’t let it go over.’ And I said, ‘It already is, we’re at $735,000.’ And he looked around and he said, ‘Well, I’ll put it on someone else’s books.'”
Bank records, according to the criminal complaint, indicate that’s exactly what Van Boxtel did.
The complaint says Van Boxtel used at least $100,000 from the Black Otter project to pay expenses on other projects, or for personal obligations to benefit himself.
“I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. I don’t want this to happen to homeowners. I don’t want this to happen to business owners,” added Guyette.
The criminal charges Van Boxtel is facing aren’t the first time he’s been accused of questionable business practices. Online court records show multiple open civil cases filed against him and Millennium Construction.
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