Last year, Amore Pools was all over the media and for all the wrong reasons. Owner, Brian Washburn and his wife, Chrystal, were charged with a variety of offenses, including money laundering and identity fraud.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the pair collected huge deposits from homeowners for building inground pools but never finished any of the jobs.

Amore Pools Accused Of Defrauding Customers

The FDLE claims the couple cheated scores of locals out of over $2 million by using Chrystal Washburn’s pool contracting business, Amore Pools.

With projects scattered over hundreds of miles, customers affected reside in Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Okeechobee, Martin, and Palm Beach counties.

In October 2021, the couple was arrested and charged with a variety of offenses, including faking documents to register the company, collecting money from at least 150 victims, and failing to complete the jobs.

On Tuesday, both the prosecution and Brian Washburn’s defense attorney made their opening statements. Brian Washburn’s counsel contended that this isn’t a case of fraud, but rather of a failed firm run by his wife, Chrystal Washburn.

“Wife Was The Contractor’ Claims Husband’s Lawyer

“You’ll not see one contract with Brian Washburn’s name on it. Not one. Chrystal Washburn signed all the contracts because she had the license. She’s the contractor – not him,” Edward Abare, Brian Washburn’s defense attorney, said.

Prosecutors presented witnesses from the FDLE and a building authority from the city of Port St. Lucie to testify that the license and permit application paperwork supplied to the city by Amore Pools were fake.

Brian Washburn’s attorney did not dispute those conclusions but stated that the paperwork demonstrates Chrystal Washburn was the only owner of Amore Pools and that his client had nothing to do with the company’s business or finance sides.

“They want to paint Brian Washburn with the same brush that they painted Chrystal Washburn with. But the law, here the law that Judge Vaughn gives you – again, the only possible verdict, in this case, is that he is not guilty of any of these charges,” Abare said.

Husband Facing 16 Felonies

A total of sixteen felonies were filed against Brian Washburn, including falsifying information on his contractor’s license application, working as an unlicensed contractor during a state of emergency, participating in a coordinated fraud scheme, misappropriating personal identification information, money laundering, and insurance fraud.

Amore Pools Owner Facing a Long Prison Sentence

A total of 180 witnesses have been identified by the state as “victims” in court documents, although it is not yet known how many of those witnesses will give testimony during the trial.

Court filings also indicate that if convicted, Washburn may face a sentence of at least 18 years.

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