OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)- A former metro pool construction owner is now being investigated after several then-clients came forward saying they lost tens of thousands of dollars to an unfinished pool project.

Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor is now investigating the matter.

According to a lawsuit filed against former Bluewater Construction and Blue Paradise Pools and Spas owner, Sixto Aaron Garcia Gutierrez, eight Central Oklahoma consumers contracted him to build a pool from December 2020 to November 2021.

Those eight customers allegedly lost an average of $28,556.25.

The most someone is said to have lost is $43,750 and the least is $20,200, according to the lawsuit.

News 4 requested the contact information of all those affected by this business deal, but they were unable to provide us with that.

Instead, our information was sent to them.

News 4 did hear back from one then-client of Gutierrez’s who said he gave him $30,000 for the pool, but it was never complete.

The lawsuit also stated in each of these eight cases, Garcia Gutierrez would complete only “partial and substandard work” before ceasing all communication.

“Mr. Gutierrez and his companies, Bluewater Construction and Blue Paradise Pools and Spas, conned these families, left them with poorly constructed and incomplete pools, and abandoned their projects while leaving their property in an unsafe condition. We will not tolerate these deceptive practices in Oklahoma, and my Consumer Protection Unit is taking action to stop these practices and secure relief for those harmed.”

Oklahoma Attorney General, John O’Connor

The lawsuit reveals Garcia Gutierrez also failed to obtain the necessary construction permits to build, which compromised the safety and quality of the projects, exposed consumers to costly delays and/or financial penalties and made it even less likely that Garcia Gutierrez would complete projects at all.

“Multiple consumers were forced to spend time searching for and hiring a new contractor to complete the work Garcia Gutierrez had promised to complete.” Garcia Gutierrez not only took the consumers’ money prior to completing the work, he left many customers’ backyards in an unsafe and unusable situation.”

The then-client we spoke with said he had to hire another pool construction company in which it cost him an additional $75,000.

The lawsuit provides an example of a consumers’ property where large excavations were left unfinished and unprotected. Construction materials and supplies were also strewn around the job site.

News 4 was able to get in touch with Garcia Gutierrez by phone.

He declined an interview and the use of his phone recording.

Garcia Gutierrez confirmed with KFOR that he didn’t complete many projects, but blamed the in-completion on personal circumstances and the pandemic.

“What happened when it got bad, there was kinda like a domino effect and reason being is that most of these people knew each other. They were referrals. Everything was going great. When it got bad with one customer, the others kinda trickled right behind it,” said Garcia Gutierrez.

He went on to say, “All these customers are great customers,” and said he was apologetic for the way things ended up.

Garcia Gutierrez claims he is working with his attorney to figure out a “fair compensation” for those impacted, but said the dollar amounts mentioned in the lawsuit are not accurate.

He no longer runs the pool construction company anymore as he claimed it wasn’t “worth it.”

Garcia Gutierrez now works in a sales department and said he is working on accumulating the money he needs to pay back his then-clients.

O’Connor is requesting the court to permanently enjoin and restrain Garcia Gutierrez from engaging in unfair, deceptive or misleading conduct.

He is also requesting that each then-client be paid restitution, to pay civil penalties to O’Connor in the amount of $10,000 per each violation of the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, to pay all costs for the prosecution and investigation of this matter, and to grant O’Connor further relief as the court deems proper.

Garcia Gutierrez is expecting a resolution in the next 60 days.