Lockport Contractor Sentenced To Two Years In Prison For Forty Thousand Dollar Home Improvement Fraud Scheme

Wayne A. Michalak of Lockport gets 2 years in prison for grand larceny. The WNY Backyard Enclosures owner took $40,000 from NY homeowners for work never done.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 9, 2026, 7:36 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Syracuse.com

Judicial Ruling Against WNY Backyard Enclosures Operator

An Upstate New York contractor will spend the next two years in state prison following a string of home improvement scams that targeted residents in Erie County. Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced the sentencing of 53 year old Wayne A. Michalak, who operated under the business name WNY Backyard Enclosures. The sentencing follows Michalak's November 2025 guilty plea to three counts of grand larceny in the third degree, a classification representing class D felonies under New York state law.

Details of the Forty Thousand Dollar Fraudulent Activity

The investigation into Michalak’s business practices revealed a pattern of predatory behavior occurring between April and June 2022. During this period, the contractor successfully solicited nearly $40,000 from three separate victims for high end residential upgrades. In the most significant instance, Michalak accepted over $28,000 from a Marilla homeowner for a detached garage project. Subsequent victims in Blasdell and the Town of Tonawanda paid several thousand dollars each for concrete patios and pergolas that the contractor admitted he never intended to build.

Restitution Requirements and Financial Impact on Victims

In addition to the two year prison term, the court has mandated that Michalak pay full restitution to the homeowners he defrauded. Despite the legal requirement, the District Attorney’s office noted that Michalak has currently only fulfilled his financial obligation to one of the three victims. For many homeowners, these scams represent the loss of significant life savings intended for property maintenance and value enhancement, leaving them with no improvements and a lengthy legal battle for reimbursement.