State Police Arrest Owner of Roy's Pools in Canterbury

The owner of a Canterbury pool company has been arrested and charged with failure to refund a deposit for a pool that was never delivered, according to state police.

Connecticut State Police have charged Brian Todd Roy, 40, of Sterling, with failure to refund payment for a home improvement within 10 days of a written request.

State Police previously told NBC Connecticut they were investigating several larceny complaints against Roy. In October, a spokesperson for the state Department of Consumer Protection said they had received eight complaints against the business.

The application for the arrest warrant says Roy had a contract in August 2020 for more than $11,000 to install a pool at a home and the homeowner gave the company a deposit of $7,086.69.

The check was cashed, but the pool didn’t come and no work was done in August or September, according to the arrest warrant application.

Roy told the homeowner that there were material delays and the pool would be installed in March or April of 2021, according to police in the warrant.

After several calls asking for the work to be done, an email came on April 22, 2021 saying that the pool wasn’t coming and wouldn’t be installed, according to police in the warrant.

Because the work didn’t start within 30 days from the date of the contract, the residents requested that the deposit be refunded but, police said, the refund didn’t come. 

Investigators tried to reach Roy and Roy’s Pools, but could not reach him or the company, according to police documents.

The arrest warrant was issued after an investigation by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and Roy turned himself in to state police on Monday morning.

NBC Connecticut previously learned that around 40 customers and vendors have filed claims in bankruptcy court against Roy’s Pools, claiming that the company had taken their money, but not delivered on the pools they paid for.

When NBC Connecticut has reached out to Roy and his attorney, Gregory Arcaro, several times for prior stories, calls and emails have gone unanswered.

According to a bankruptcy filing, Roy owes $545,000 to more than 40 creditors, mostly customers and pool supply companies, but has only $270,000 in assets to cover his bills.

State police said in a news release that they anticipate additional charges.