United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin Timothy M. O’Shea announced Thursday that Tyler Hansen, 52, Fort Atkinson, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 7 years in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering. His wife, Jennifer Hansen, 43, was sentenced by Judge Conley to 33 months in prison for money laundering.

The Hansens pleaded guilty to the charges last October.

According to the release, between October 2020 and September 2022, Tyler Hansen operated a home improvement business based in Dane and Jefferson counties. The business operated under multiple names, including Weathersealed Wisconsin and EcoView Windows of South-Central Wisconsin.

Hansen, the release noted, entered into contracts for home improvement projects with customers throughout Wisconsin, “knowing that he did not intend to order supplies for the jobs or otherwise start the projects,” the release stated.

The contracts were for various home improvement projects, including windows, sunrooms, bathrooms, roofs, and doors.  When contracts for projects were signed, Hansen required that customers pay 50% of the total contract price as a down payment, the release read, further noting that “rather than use the money from customer down payments to pay project related expenses, Hansen used the money for personal expenses.”

The Hansens stole over $800,000 from over 100 victims across Wisconsin during the fraud scheme, the release continued.

Hansen and his wife also engaged in money laundering, the release noted, adding that the couple used multiple financial transactions to conceal and disguise the true nature of the funds in their bank accounts and to make it more difficult for clients to receive refunds of their down payments.

They deposited down payment checks from customers into multiple business bank accounts then transferred the funds to multiple personal accounts, according to the release.   

Judge Conley, during sentencing, called the couple’s actions “horrific,” the release stated, noting that they “targeted elderly and vulnerable people,” which resulted in substantial financial losses.

Additionally, the release stated that the judge explained that while both the Hansens lied to victims, Tyler Hansen deserved a longer sentence because he was the driving force behind the scheme and had a prior criminal history.

A hearing to determine the amount of restitution owned to the victims in the case has been scheduled for March 15, the release noted.

According to the release, the charges against the Hansens were the  result of an investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of law enforcement officers and district attorneys’ offices in the following counties in Wisconsin:  Richland, Vernon, Grant, Dane, Fond Du Lac, Green Lake, Jefferson, Vilas, Walworth, Waukesha, Iowa, Kenosha, Adams, Columbia, Green, Monroe, Rock, Sauk, Winnebago, Sheboygan, Dodge, and Brown. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner handled the prosecution.  

A story published last October about the couple’s decision to plead guilty to charges filed against them is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/fort-man-wife-plead-guilty-to-home-improvement-project-fraud-scheme/.