Florida pool contractor sentenced for defrauding homeowners

FLORIDA—The owner of a Florida pool company has been sentenced to prison for defrauding homeowners, Attorney General Ashley Moody has announced.

Ms Moody said her Office of Statewide Prosecution (OSO) secured an 18-year sentence for Ricardo Villarroel Duerto, owner of Villa Pavers and Pools.

Mr. Villarroel, salespeople, and a licensed general contractor are said to have defrauded nearly 100 Florida homeowners of more than $1 million. The Honorable Judge William S. Orth sentenced Villarroel to prison on charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering.

“Building a pool is an expensive undertaking, and some families may save for years to build their dream pool. This shady contractor took advantage of nearly 100 Florida homeowners, including seniors, trying to buy a pool, causing more than $1 million in losses,” said Ms Moody.

“Thanks to our Statewide Prosecutors, this contractor will serve a lengthy prison sentence for ripping off Floridians.”

Mr Villarroel targeted victims in Broward, Collier, Hendry, Hillsborough, Lake, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas and Seminole counties. He reportedly promoted low overall prices on pools, compared to market value, as a hook to gain business from eventual victims yet pocketed significant deposits without following through on installation.

According to the investigation, state law enforcement officials received complaints claiming Villa Pavers and Pools collected around 40 percent of the contracted price for the installation of pools for some victims yet did not complete the job. Some of the installations are said to have resulted in giant holes in the victims’ backyards, while other projects never started after Mr Villarroel took the deposit by simply cutting off communication with a victim.

Additionally, the investigation is said to have uncovered that Villarroel teamed up with licensed general contractor Luis Alvarez of Conquer Builders, who allegedly aided and abetted Villa Pavers and Pools in defrauding homeowners throughout the state.

Mr Alvarez reportedly sold the use of his general contractor license to Villa Pavers and Pools, an unlicensed contractor company, to present a contractor license to homeowners and obtain building permits.

Villarroel used the license repeatedly and hired two salespeople, Michael Borrego Fernandez and Laura Ballester Alpizar.

Alvarez, Borrego, and Ballester are all in custody, facing the same charges as Villarroel.

Mr Alvarez pleaded guilty to both charges, with a sentence pending. Borrego and Ballester are out on bond.

Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Rebecca Smith-Hameroff prosecuted the case.