WACO, Texas — In the wake of multiple complaints filed with law enforcement agencies across Central Texas and the Texas Attorney General's Office against the embattled Moonlight Pool and Spa and the company's owner Mikeal Rem, a Waco-based pool contractor is stepping up to help those he can.
Rem, and Moonlight, are accused of taking thousands of dollars from customers and leaving them with unfinished pools.
Codey Afinowicz with A-Z Pools said he is currently working on three pools that were allegedly abandoned mid-construction by Moonlight. He said none of them had a water bond, nor were they up to electrical code.
"In my opinion, they wanted to get the pool to where it looked complete and customers not knowing," Afinowicz said. "To get a pool and spa package that can cost $15,000 and to not have that there for them and bill for that, I feel like they knew what they were doing."
Afinowicz said he wants to help as many victims of Moonlight as he can and encourages those who were left "high and dry" by the company to contact him or other pool builders as their "busy season begins."
"In Texas, pool builders do not need to have a license, there's no permitting or licensing and if that changes it would stop a lot of this," Afinowicz said.
Afinowicz said Jimmie Holt's pool, which was allegedly abandoned for maintenance and repairs by Moonlight, was a "shoddy job" he had to fix up.
"They ran all of the plumbing underneath the pool and through the beams of the pool so when the pool was shot with gunite, which is the concrete shell of the pool, it was done wrong," Afinowicz said. "So if they ever have a major leak they're going to have a major issue of having to bust out the gunite and then plaster over to repair that."
Afinowicz said he laid the plaster and installed the electrical wiring and sundeck for Holt at a fraction of the cost for normal labor, out of consideration for her position.
"It was $28,000 for just parts, labor, subcontractors and electricians and so forth," Afinowicz said. "Some of the customers that have complete or functional pools need to follow up and check on their equipment and make sure it was registered."
For those in need of repairs, Afinowicz said they should hire an electrician to make sure there is a water bond installed in the pool, and if they're concerned about its status, to turn off the pool's light breakers.
Given the maintenance required, Afinowicz said Moonlight's motive when installing these pools was clear.
"They stole from them, they did shoddy work towards the end and took advantage of somebody that didn't know and that's it, they took advantage of a lot of people," Afinowicz said.
6 News tried reaching out to both Mikeal Rem and Kevin Lock with Moonlight Pool & Spa, but it appeared as if both of their phones were disconnected.
With charges, law enforcement complaints and reports filed against Rem and Moonlight across Central Texas, the Bell County District Attorney's Office said they are still requesting more documentation from customers in regards to their business dealings with the company.
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