HILLSBOROUGH CO., Fla. — Multiple families say they're facing financial hardship after hiring a pool contractor who left them with half-finished projects and tens of thousands of dollars in losses.
Luis Angel Gomez thought his backyard pool project would be straightforward when he hired Dreamscape Pools in 2023. Instead, it became what he calls his "biggest nightmare ever."
"I thought everything was going to be good. Turned out to be the biggest nightmare ever," Gomez said.
The retired Army veteran, who served nearly 30 years, was injured in a motorcycle crash. Gomez said he found relief in aquatic therapy, something his 12-year-old granddaughter would also do for an arm condition.
"I had 13 surgeries altogether, so aquatic therapy worked," Gomez said.
Gomez decided to upgrade his backyard and signed a contract with Dreamscape Pools LLC., owned by David Robbins. The contract included work on a fiberglass pool, patio, and screen enclosure.
"My niece had her pool put in by this company, and they did it in 6 months," Gomez said.
“I thought everything was going to be good, turned out to be the biggest nightmare ever.”
Not long into the job, Gomez said Robbins stopped showing up to finish the work, despite Gomez having paid $111,535, which was nearly the full contract price.
"He said he was going to come back, but he never did," Gomez said. "He took my money and ran.”
Jamie Wolczynski also hired Robbins to install a fiberglass pool at his Tampa house. Wolczynski said he paid $66,000, but more than 3 years later, the project remains unfinished.
"I trusted him completely," Wolczynski said.
Wolczynski showed Tampa Bay 28, where he said Robbins placed pool equipment too close to the property line, violating Hillsborough County code, but never returned to fix the violation.
"I'm not asking for a miracle here, I'm just asking for someone to finish the job I paid them to do," Wolczynski said.
Robbins did not respond to Tampa Bay 28’s multiple requests for comment. The only address linked to him is for a post box in Seminole, FL.
Court records reveal a pattern of complaints against Robbins as well as the challenges investigators had in finding him. Last year, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for Robbins’ arrest, but the only address they had for him was the post box. Robbins was later found during a traffic stop and arrested on charges of grand theft of money received by a contractor, a second-degree felony. According to court documents, a couple in Sugarloaf Key paid him a $68,000 deposit for a pool he never delivered.
A civil theft lawsuit in Manatee County resulted in a $144,000 judgment against Robbins for another unfinished pool project. The customer is still waiting to collect that money. Following that case, in May 2025, the state revoked Robbins's contractor license.
Gomez eventually hired another contractor to complete his pool, but said it cost him an additional $78,000, and he had to take out a personal loan.
"Now I got not only a mortgage but now I got to pay that loan," Gomez said.
Wolczynski said he is still trying to find someone else to finish his pool project.
"I didn't have the funds to finish it on my own," he added.
Robbins is scheduled to appear in Monroe County court later in October for his criminal case.
One customer was able to recover money from the Florida Homeowner's Construction Recovery Fund, a state fund for customers who lost money to licensed contractors, though cases must meet certain conditions to qualify.
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