CANTERBURY – Husband and wife who own a local swimming pool company are facing multiple theft charges after former clients accused them of taking deposits for swimming pools that were never completed or installed , according to arrest warrants.
Connecticut State Police have charged Brian Roy and Christina Hatch-Roy, of Sterling, with one count of first-degree robbery, eight counts of second-degree robbery and nine counts of third-degree robbery, a the agency said in separate statements. Hatch-Roy has also been charged with two additional counts of fourth-degree robbery, while Roy faces only one additional count of fourth-degree robbery. Both are being held on bail.
State police allege that between January and September of last year, the couple’s company, Roy’s Pools, collected more than $179,000 in payments and deposits from 20 victims, according to the warrants. Payments ranged from $1,800 to more than $27,000 in one case for “services not rendered,” depending on the warrants.
The arrest comes after Brian Roy was charged by state police in January with failing to return a payment for a home renovation within 10 days. That case is also ongoing, according to court records.
Alleged victims told investigators in some cases they had paid thousands of dollars to have a swimming pool installed, only to find the business closed months later, or to be told the business was in liquidation without explanation of what had happened to their payments, according to the arrest warrants. Others reportedly paid thousands of dollars just to receive their pool in parts that were never installed, according to the warrants.
A couple said they paid $11,000 for a deposit on a swimming pool to be used to provide aquatic therapy for their 14-year-old son, who is “severely disabled,” according to records. When the couple asked for a refund months later, the company denied them a refund and claimed they would not get their pool due to an unpaid balance. The couple contacted the pool manufacturer directly, who alleged that the pool had been ordered by Roy’s Pools but never shipped ‘due to extended credit and non-payment by Roy’s Pools’ , indicates a mandate.
State police began investigating the couple after identifying several potential victims of a witness who said her mother paid for a pool for the family but never received it, according to warrants. State police also received a list of potential victims from the state’s Consumer Protection Department and reviewed small claims cases, financial records and media coverage, according to the warrants.
One of the alleged victims told investigators his mother wrote a check for more than $8,000 for a company pool after receiving a bill in February 2021, according to the warrants. The family asked for the money in September and were told the pool would be shipped in a week or two.
The following month, the woman called the store twice and only reached an answering machine, according to the warrants. When she went to the store in person during business hours, she found the parking lot empty and the business closed for the day, according to the warrant. She then researched the business online and found a one-star rating with customer reviews alleging they had lost money to Roy’s Pools, according to the warrants.
In an interview with state police, Hatch-Roy claimed the business ‘failed overnight’ after a former employee contacted a client, who then began posting messages online and other customers started canceling orders. She then told police the couple was bankrupt.
Roy spoke to investigators in January after his first arrest. During the interview, Roy “could not provide a full account of the money paid by the victims” and answered many questions with “a story about his experiences and his business problems”, say the mandates.
The couple are scheduled to appear in Danielson Superior Court on March 9, according to court records.
