AG Nessel: Glamping Company Pleads No Contest To Fraud In Antrim County

(CBS DETROIT) - Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a company that advertised upscale camping experiences pleaded no contest to fraud in Antrim County Circuit Court.

The company, Bella Solviva Inc., pleaded no contest to one felony count of larceny by conversion between $1,000 and $20,000; and one misdemeanor count of larceny by conversion between $200 and $1,000 before Judge Kevin A. Elsenheimer.

Bradley and Sandra Carlson, the owners of Bella Solviva Inc., were sentenced to two years of probation in October and were ordered to pay restitution.

In 2015, the Carsons began advertising their company as an upscale camping resort that was being built in Antrim County. The company's website said that if rooms weren't ready by a person's reservation date, the individual would be refunded.

The company accepted deposits from 2015 to 2017 and never actually built the resort.

More than 30 customers never received refunds.

Since Bella Solviva Inc. is a company, it does not face possible jail time, but it can be sentenced to pay fines.

"The victims in the case were lied to and taken advantage of, and my office will not stand for businesses that defraud their customers and steal their money," Nessel said. "Consumers must be able to trust their hard-earned money will be used as intended."

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 13.

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