WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Hundreds of people have come forward, claiming they are victims of being scammed by pool builder Tom Binyon.
Since KSN’s conversation with Tom Binyon on Monday, KSN has taken dozens of phone calls from people with nearly identical stories. They paid Binyon over $50,000, and he took their money and ran.
An officer with the Andover Police Department said the justice those alleged victims are looking for is something they are working on.
Andover PD opened a new investigation into Binyon on Thursday. The impacted family’s story is a familiar one.
“She is out around 120 thousand dollars. He came in, did some of the work. Unfortunately, it was not finished; she can’t get him to answer her back,” said Andover PD Officer Nathan LeClair.
He said his department is pursuing felony charges.
“To see someone lose that much money just to have a leisurely time with their family, that’s wrong,” said LeClair.
When KSN talked to Binyon on Monday, he said he continued to take contracts for new pool builds and pay for materials on unfinished projects after his agreement with his franchise ended.
“When I signed the mutual termination agreement with Premier Pools and Spas in December, should I have just closed the business down at that point in time, we would’ve been in the same position 6–8 months ago,” said Binyon.
A decision Mark Hestand wished Binyon had not been made.
Hestand signed a contract with Binyon at the end of May, with Binyon using a new company name, Swim Now Pools.
Hestand said he and his wife now have a second mortgage payment and will never be able to afford a pool.
“Every month, I go to write a check to the lending institution and know that I’ve got absolutely nothing to show for it, but this guy is stealing my money,” said Hestand.
Hestand wants Binyon stopped.
“He’s still out there taking advantage of people. I hope others, through your story. That stops,” said Hestand.
Each day, more people are coming forward, claiming that they are victims, too.
“It makes me very angry, it’s inconvenient, it’s expensive, it’s wrong,” said Michelle Janssens.
“It’s very frustrating that he’s been able to do it for this long. As we are finding out, we just hope we’re doing our part to get some answers and justice for people,” said Jeff Corley.
“It’s terrible,” said Ashley McCullough. “I was talking to people who have it way worse than we do … luckily, we had the ability to finish ours out with another contractor, but a lot of people don’t.”
“I just wanna see justice done. I want people to be aware,” said Ryan Warden.
There is no timeline for when Andover PD will present the case for possible charges.
KSN also learned that the Newton Police Department opened a case on Thursday as well.
The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office continues its investigation.
KSN reached out to Binyon on Thursday to hear what he had to say about more allegations. He said this reporting puts his family in danger.
A representative with the Better Business Bureau advises being wary of someone asking for full payment upfront and always checking with the BBB before agreeing to do business with a company.
