Trending
Tampa pool company owner accused of stealing $1.5M
James Ivan Staten, Jr. allegedly took money from 140 clients and did not finish the work
A Tampa pool company owner has found himself in hot water.
James Ivan Staten, Jr., the owner of Olympus Pools, is accused of defrauding Floridians of more than $1.5 million, while failing to complete promised pool projects, according to a Florida attorney general press release.
The charges include aggravated white-collar crime, organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, and contractor fraud, according to the release.
Staten’s alleged misconduct spanned multiple counties, leaving about 140 victims across Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Polk, Sarasota, and Pinellas counties. The victims often paid Staten tens of thousands of dollars upfront, sometimes from their life savings or retirement funds, the release said.
However, many of the pools were never completed, with Staten allegedly using the money for personal expenses, including vacations and entertainment events like the Super Bowl.
Attorney General Moody condemned Staten’s actions, highlighting the emotional and financial toll on victims who saved diligently to realize their pool dreams. The charges encompass not only financial misconduct but also the destruction of customers’ backyards as projects were abandoned midway.
Staten is hardly the only contractor who has been accused of financial misdeeds.
A New Jersey contractor was arrested recently on charges of federal tax evasion.
Joel Konopka, 45, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was charged with four counts of corporate tax evasion, two counts of filing false corporate tax returns, and two counts of failing to file corporate tax returns, according to a U.S. Department of Justice.
Konopka was the owner and sole shareholder of Konopka Construction, a company providing construction, contracting, and snow plowing services in northern New Jersey from 2014 to 2017.
According to court documents, Konopka allegedly failed to file truthful and accurate corporate tax returns for his company during that period, despite earning over $3.3 million in business income between 2014 and 2017, including more than $1 million in 2016.
Konopka did not report this income accurately. He filed corporate tax returns for 2014 and 2015 that reported no income for his company, and he failed to file any corporate tax returns for 2016 and 2017. Additionally, Konopka is accused of not making any payments to the IRS for corporate taxes during these years.
— Ted Glanzer