Pool company owner sentenced to prison in fraud case, ordered to pay $2M

The owner of a Pasco County-based pool company has been sentenced to 20 years in prison following his conviction on multiple charges, including fraud. 

James Ivan Staten Jr. stole $1.5 million from Floridians as the owner of Olympus Pools by taking their money and failing to complete pool projects, according to a statement from the state attorney general’s office.

Swindled customers spanned Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco and Polk counties, where customers made large down payments and were left in many cases with “no pools and destroyed yards,” according to a statement.

“Floridians trusted this corporation with their hard-earned money. Instead of completing the job, this fraudster skimmed off the top and was sinking the cash into his pockets," Attorney General James Uthmeier says in a statement. "Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners, Special Counsel for Statewide Prosecution Stephanie Bergen and Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Panagiota Papakos, this man will serve two decades behind bars and provide restitution to those he victimized."

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Staten was convicted on 35 counts, including aggravated white-collar crime, organized scheme to defraud, grand theft and contractor fraud, according to the statement, which says the leaders of the investigation were the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Pinellas County State Attorney's Office Division of Consumer Protection. The Pasco County Sheriff's Office, Polk County Sheriff's Office and Manatee County Sheriff's Office also assisted with the case.

In addition to serving 20 years behind bars, Staten has been sentenced to 30 years of probation and more than $1 million in restitution. He must also pay a $1 million fine for aggravated white collar crime and is prohibited from owning or operating a business while on probation. In 2023, the attorney general’s office in a civil case ordered Olympus Pools to shut down.