Amore' Pool owner convicted Friday in multimillion-dollar pool contracting scheme
VERO BEACH − The owner of Amore’ Pools Friday was convicted of numerous felony charges related to operating a multimillion-dollar pool contracting scheme following a five-week trial, according to Indian River County court officials.
A jury seated on April 29 found that Chrystal Washburn, 42, concocted a scheme to defraud homeowners on the Treasure Coast and elsewhere by taking large deposits to build in-ground residential swimming pools, but never completed the projects, court records show.
Washburn, who lives in the 8300 block of 99th Court, was convicted of seven counts of identity fraud, two counts of money laundering, insurance fraud, contracting without a license, false statement of compliance and organized scheme to defraud, records show.
Her sentencing is scheduled for June 25.
Reached after court, Washburn’s lawyer Roger Azcona declined to comment.
Her husband, Bryan Washburn, 37, who identified himself as a company employee, was convicted by a jury in June 2022, and is serving 30 years in prison. He was found guilty of nine felony counts, including organized scheme to defraud, identity theft and money laundering of more than $100,000.
He also was ordered to pay $3,222,181 in restitution to 121 customer victims, according to sentencing records.
He’s appealing his conviction and sentence, court filings show.
Both Washburns were prosecuted by the Florida Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Unlicensed contractors
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement accused the couple of systematically defrauding customers across the Treasure Coast and elsewhere by fraudulently establishing the business, then agreeing to building backyard swimming pools but never completing them.
A criminal investigation launched in July 2021 after receiving numerous claims of fraud about a Treasure Coast pool contractor that would take “significant deposits” and then “either abandoning the victims or leaving them with an unfinished, poorly constructed shell in their back yards,” FDLE agents reported.
The company also forged documents and fraudulently obtained credentials to become registered pool and spa contractors in 2017, investigators concluded.
Upon receiving deposit checks from homeowners, the Washburns used a third-party check-cashing store to convert the checks into cash, in an attempt to conceal the illicit funds, law enforcement agents said when the couple was arrested in October 2021.
Chrystal Washburn’s trial lasted 22 days as jurors heard from 51 state witnesses and 24 defense witnesses, including Washburn, who testified Wednesday, records show.
Her trial was scheduled after a different judge last year rejected the terms of a plea deal struck between Washburn and statewide prosecutors, according to court filings.
An email seeking comment from the Office of Statewide Prosecution was not returned Friday.
After Brian Washburn's conviction, Attorney General Ashley Moody issued a statement saying the Amore' scheme approached nearly $3 million, often leaving dangerous debris piles and gaping holes in the victims’ backyards.
The victims were from the Treasure Coast and Brevard, Okeechobee and Palm Beach counties.
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Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Amore' Pool owner guilty in multimillion-dollar pool building scheme
