"I want him to go to jail": Minnesota families who lost thousands to pool contractor Charles Workman applaud federal charges
MINNEAPOLIS – Federal prosecutors just charged Charles Workman with defrauding homeowners of more than three-quarters of a million dollars in what they call a "swimming pool contracting scheme."
WCCO's Jennifer Mayerle spoke with families who say Workman took their money, but never did the work.
"I'm thrilled, I'm happy it actually happened faster than I thought it would," said New Prague resident Cassie Kieffer.
"There was actual schedules, consequences. They call this the big leagues for a reason," said Chanhassen resident Kyle Swenson.
These are just a few of the families who made sacrifices, saved and paid Workman for a swimming pool they never got.
"It really took this band of people coming together in order to get the attention of the authorities in a real way," said Chaska resident Erin Olson.
Workman now faces federal criminal charges for wire fraud for what the United States Attorney's Office calls a scheme to defraud people. He promised swimming pools, but instead left backyards in ruin. Jobs were abandoned, or not started at all.
"My family paid $75,000," Kieffer said. "All the signs were there, the warning signs were there, but he played on our emotions, and we believed him."
The indictment accuses Workman of fraudulently soliciting more than $750,000 from Twin Cities families. Many are still making monthly payments on a loan for the pool they don't have.
The indictment says Workman spent some of what people paid him on child support, at the casino and on a horse and saddle.
"That was our future, our plan, our life savings that I actually had to work for that he stole," Swenson said.
They still hope for restitution, and say criminal charges offers validation.
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"It's not just about the money," Olson said. "There's a healing that needs to happen."
They want Workman to be held accountable for it all.
"We lived it, it happened. It should be an open-and-shut case, but we know it's not that easy," Swenson said.
"I want him to go to jail and I want it to go to trial," Kieffer said. "I want him to see my face and know you really not only have betrayed our trust, you've broken our hearts."
Workman was released after a detention hearing in Tennessee Tuesday. WCCO reached out to him, but did not hear back.
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