The owner of a pool construction company in Florida, Ricardo Villarroel Duerto, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for defrauding nearly 100 homeowners.
The State Attorney's Office, through Attorney General Ashley Moody, announced that Villarroel, owner of Villa Pavers and Pools, was found guilty of extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion, after defrauding homeowners of over a million dollars.
Telemundo51 stated that the investigation began in 2021 after the first complaints were made public. Authorities demonstrated that Villarroel was targeting victims in multiple counties, including Broward, Collier, Hendry, Hillsborough, Lake, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, and Seminole.
He attracted homeowners by offering low prices and, after receiving the initial deposits for the work, he did not complete the pool installations. He left gaps in the yards and disappeared, pocketing the money without fulfilling the agreed-upon work.
Moody explained that many families save for years to install a pool, and Villarroel took advantage of that dream, affecting about 100 property owners, including the elderly.
The authorities received numerous complaints that Villa Pavers and Pools were charging around 40% of the cost of pool installation but were not completing the work.
Furthermore, it was discovered that Villarroel collaborated with Luis Álvarez, a licensed general contractor from Conquer Builders, who sold the use of his license to Villa Pavers and Pools, thus allowing them to obtain construction permits and deceive the property owners.
Villarroel also hired two sales agents, Michael Borrego Fernández and Laura Ballester Alpízar, who helped expand the fraud, securing more contracts and generating more illicit income.
In the end, Álvarez, Borrego, and Ballester were arrested and they face the same charges as Villarroel. Álvarez pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing, while Borrego and Ballester were released on bail.
What do you think?
COMMENTFiled under: