Homeowners say they paid thousands of dollars to have swimming pools built, but the company they hired didn’t finish the work.
NBC Responds and Telemundo Responde Units across the state were contacted by frustrated homeowners.
“I wanted a pool so my kids could do something,” Angel Lacasse said.
Lacasse says he contracted with Villa Pavers and Pools in December 2019 to build a pool in his backyard. The total project was estimated to cost $25,000.
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But more than a year later he says he still doesn’t have a pool.
“I have no backyard. My kids can’t go out there and play,” Lacasse said. “All he has done is pour concrete. After I paid him that lump sum of money, he has just disappeared.”
Lacasse says after paying roughly $21,000 all work stopped.
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“He refused to come out and do any work,” Lacasse said.
Lacasse isn’t the only frustrated homeowner. We also heard from two homeowners in Orlando in a similar situation with the same company. A homeowner in Tampa and another in Holiday, Florida, shared similar stories too.
All of the homeowners we spoke to say they were left with unfinished projects.
Our Telemundo Responde Unit in Orlando tried reaching the company’s owner Ricardo Villaroel by phone. When they couldn’t get ahold of him we went to the company’s listed address in Palm Springs.
The address led us to an apartment. We didn’t find Villaroel, but a man living at the apartment told us many people have come looking for him recently.
Florida’s Office of the Attorney General told us they have received six complaints about Villa Pavers and Pools and their Consumer Protection Division is actively reviewing all six complaints.
We also asked the State’s department that regulates contractors if any action will be taken against this company. They told us they “cannot release information regarding a possible disciplinary proceeding” until after they “find probable cause.”
