TEMPLE, Texas — Owners from the embattled Central Texas pool company Moonlight Pool & Spa joined former customers and creditors for a phone call with a bankruptcy trustee with the Department of Justice on June 27 to discuss the next steps following one owner's bankruptcy filing.
According to court records, Moonlight owner Mike Rem officially filed for personal and company bankruptcy on May 23.
One the phone call with customers and creditors, Michelle Hancock, a former Moonlight customer said that Rem told the Zoom call participants that he owed $150,000 on his home that he moved into in February. Timing Hancock found odd.
"That was at the same time that he was filing for bankruptcy with Moonlight Pools," Hancock said.
With dozens of customers out thousands of dollars and left with unfinished pools, Rem had told the "victims" on the phone call that the time he was spending out of the country in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico was for a timeshare and the rooms were "free."
A life of luxury customers raised questions as to how Rem could afford it.
"I don't believe that the man has been able to live like that off his wife's nursing paycheck," Hancock said.
Hancock, like many other customers, had contracted with Moonlight in October 2023 and progress on her pool, patio was moving along nicely. Until sales representative Tyler Ralston met with Hancock to pick out the finishing color for the pool plaster and the patio, and communication was cut off shortly after.
It wouldn't be until Feb. 26 that Mike Rem would reach out to Hancock to inform her that they were filing for bankruptcy and wouldn't be able to finish their pool. A contract that Hancock financed for between $64,000 and $68,000.
"The finance company Rem was working with had paid 90 percent of the contract and left us with just a few thousand dollars to finish the pool, landscaping, sundeck, we still had to plaster and put the pool pump in," Hancock said.
Hancock said the pool was only about 60 percent complete, yet she was left with 10 percent of her original budget to spend on it.
"Rem made excuses that just because 'you had given me money doesn't mean I allocate it specifically for your project,'" Hancock said. "He said 'I allocate it into a bucket of funds and it gets dished out from there.'"
Hancock said Rem's handling of customer dollars was "not fair" to homeowners and his "lavish lifestyle" which included a pool of his own, the newly built house and multiple different vehicle were the result of "dozens of us being swindled by a pool company," she added.
Hancock has since filed complaints with the Temple Police Department and said she's come to the realization that "the money is not coming back" and now wants to see "repercussions" for the entire Moonlight team.
"I feel that our sales guy, Tyler Ralston, while he likely did not have anything to do with money changing hands I feel he prompted us to move forward with the pool and I feel like he knew the company was going under yet he was right on top of us signing a contract in October," Hancock said.
Amid all of the confusion and inability to get in touch with Moonlight workers Hancock hired another company, Suncana, to come out to finish the work and he pool is currently finished and usable.
"We still have issues with the landscaping because that was supposed to be done by Moonlight," Hancock said. "But our pool they did it perfectly fine, I have a pool and I'm happy about it."
Since the June 27 hearing Hancock said it's unclear where the case stands and when the next time she and other customers will have to meet face to face with Lock and Rem.
"I want to see this to the end, I want something to happen," Hancock said. "I realize that he didn't come into my house and rob my house but he did rob my bank account and that deserves repercussions."
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