The operator of a Twin Cities company cheated clients out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in down payments by falsely pledging to install in-ground swimming pools, then spent some of the money on casino gambling, child support and a horse and saddle, according to a newly unsealed federal indictment.
Charles R. Workman, 37, who owned MN Crete Pools, a Prior Lake company that marketed pools throughout the Twin Cities area, was charged in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis with four counts of wire fraud in connection with the scheme that enriched him by more than $750,000 in 2021 and 2022.
Workman was arrested Monday in Nashville, appeared in federal court and has a hearing in Minnesota scheduled for April 10. Court records do not list an attorney for him.
Until recently, Workman lived on a 9-acre spread in Prior Lake. The 4,200-square-foot home includes an in-ground heated pool in the back yard and a horse stable, the real estate listing noted.
The property sold late last year for $876,000, according to county property records. Workman's estranged wife, Jennifer Workman, told the Star Tribune that they defaulted on the loan, were evicted and made no money from the sale.
According to the charges:
Workman would collect down payments and promise to install a pool that same year, but then fail to complete the project. At times, he told multiple clients he only had one more spot on his construction schedule as inducement for them to make a down payment.
Workman gave clients various reasons for their project's delay including the COVID-19 pandemic, the weather or equipment shortages.
