Pool contractor behind $1M fraud targeting Florida homeowners gets 18 years in prison

A pool contractor whose fraud scheme bilked nearly 100 Florida homeowners out of more than $1 million was given a lengthy prison sentence.

Ricardo Villarroel Duerto, owner of Villa Pavers and Pools, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced Thursday.

Villarroel targeted victims across Florida - including in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach - promoting low pool prices to gain business from victims.

Homeowners paid the company deposits for the pools but Villarroel wouldn't follow though on installation.

NBC6 Responds investigated Villarroel in 2021 after being contacted by frustrated homeowners.

One man said he paid $21,000 toward a $25,000 pool after contracting with Villa Pavers and Pools in 2019, but over a year later, he was still without a pool.

“I have no backyard. My kids can’t go out there and play," Angel Lacasse said. “All he has done is pour concrete. After I paid him that lump sum of money, he has just disappeared.”

Moody said some of the installations resulted in giant holes in the victims’ backyards, while other projects never started after Villarroel took the deposit and cut off communication with a victim.

"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," Moody said in a statement. "Thanks to our Statewide Prosecutors, this contractor will serve a lengthy prison sentence for ripping off Floridians."

Moody said Villarroel teamed with licensed general contractor Luis Alvarez, who sold the use of his general contractor license to Villa Pavers and Pools to aid in the fraud.

Villarroel used the license repeatedly and hired two salespeople, Michael Borrego Fernandez and Laura Ballester Alpizar, to gain more business, Moody said.

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

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