A pool builder accused of deceptive business practices in one state was arrested and jailed in another for similar charges.
Charles Workman, owner of MN Crete Pools in Prior Lake, Minnesota, faces criminal charges for taking more than $750,000 from more than a dozen Minnesota families for pools that were never completed.
The pool contractor was scheduled to appear for a plea hearing this August but missed his court date because he was sitting in jail in Tennessee.
This August, Workman was picked up in Allen County, Kentucky, for an indictment out of Tennessee, where he was accused of felony theft.
In Tennessee, according to the Overton Sheriff's report, Workman allegedly paid $18,277.80 for concrete with a bad check, which his victim discovered “the day after the concrete was poured.”
Workman’s latest arrest forced prosecutors in Minnesota to push back the date of his hearing, where he was scheduled to change his plea to guilty.
In a related case, in 2023, the Minnesota Attorney General’s office secured a civil judgement against Workman for “deceptive and fraudulent practices in marketing and selling in-ground pool construction and equipment that he and his company have not delivered,” according to a press release.
At that time, Workman and his company was permanently banned from doing residential construction in Minnesota, and ordered to pay $1.1 million in restitution to victims, $1.1 million in civil penalties to the state, as well as the state’s attorneys’ fees and costs in pursuing the case.
The default judgement came when Workman failed to respond to the lawsuit. Victims say Workman hasn’t paid anything yet.
Also at that time, Workman was federally indicted on criminal charges of four counts of wire fraud, for which he initially pled not guilty.
Prosecutors allege that Workman took large down payments for swimming pools he never completed, often leaving customers' backyards in disarray.
The criminal indictment claims Workman converted customer payments for his personal use, including paying child support, gambling at casinos, and purchasing a horse and saddle.
In July 2025, Workman was expected to change his plea to guilty, but instead he changed attorneys and asked for additional time to get the new attorney up to speed.
On August 26, Workman was once again scheduled to change his plea to guilty, but the hearing was cancelled when he was arrested in Kentucky to face Tennessee charges.
A new plea hearing has been scheduled for October 2, 2025.
Workman faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for each of the four wire fraud counts in his indictment, for a total of 80 years. Federal sentencing guidelines will determine the specific sentence.
