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Owner of contracting firm faces 6 counts of theft in Denver, victims included elderly

Denver Police arrested the owner of contracting company KelsMac LLC on charges of theft after she allegedly took deposits from elderly customers to do work, then used company money for personal gain.

A complaint filed in March 2022 led to an investigation and then criminal case by the Denver District Attorney’s Office alleging contractor fraud against Kelsey Lyons, 38. 

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann announced Wednesday that Lyons faces six felony counts of theft, including one from an at-risk person, according to a news release. 

Lyons allegedly collected down payments for construction work from clients then used that money to pay contractors and business expenses for unrelated projects and used the money for her personal benefit, according to the release. 

Lyons also allegedly failed to keep the required funds in escrow and completed little, or none, of the contracted work. 

Lyons was discharged from a bankruptcy around June 22, 2020 and started KelsMac LLC, a “residential and commercial general contracting firm that was licensed, bonded, and insured” out of Fort Collins about a month later, according to her arrest affidavit.

In June 2021, KelsMac was chosen for a major renovations contract and addition on a home in Littleton, according to the affidavit. She charged two $42,339 deposits. 

In about a three-month time span in late 2021, no progress was made on the project and Lyons blamed it on delay of parts availability and associated manufacturing, the affidavit said.

The owners of the home then got an email from Lyons stating that KelsMac LLC had ceased operations and was closing down and claims for repayment could be submitted. 

To date, Lyons has returned $10,000 of the $84,678 collected from customers, according to the affidavit.

In May 2021, the owners of another Littleton residence signed a construction contract with Lyons.

The owners paid Lyons a $37,226 deposit, then very little work was done on the project between May and September. She failed to return the deposit money, according to the affidavit. She still owes the owners $24,726.

Lyons did similar things to several other victims, including an 81-year-old veteran, according to the affidavit.

An analysis of her bank records showed that she used the victims’ funds to pay for contractors and business expenses related to other projects and for personal items. 

Lyons was arraigned on Monday and will appear in court for a preliminary hearing on June 20.

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