FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office on Friday announced the arrest of two pool contractors accused of embezzling construction funds.
Michael Rusche, 67, and Diane Rusche, 67, both of Palm Coast, are the owners of Ohanu Waters Inc., a business that the sheriff’s office said it began investigating for fraud 15 months before the arrests.
Investigators fielded 16 reports from April 2024 to July 2024 where alleged victims said they had hired Ohanu Waters Inc. to construct pools, yet the company allegedly left the pools unfinished “with no apparent intention to complete them,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Multiple other victims reported the business failed to fully pay subcontractors, which resulted in liens being filed against their homes.
During the investigation, detectives found that, in many cases, victims had paid up to 90% of the construction costs, but were missing pool equipment, had unfinished tiling, or did not have final inspections. In other cases, construction had not advanced past the installation of the pool shell.
Flagler County Sheriff's Office news release (excerpt)
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Detectives obtained and executed arrest warrants for Michael Rusche and Diane Rusche on Tuesday, the release states.
They each face two counts of embezzlement – misappropriation of construction funds ($20,000 to $100,000), with Diane Rusche facing an additional charge of grand theft, according to the release.
Michael Rusche and Diane Rusche were later released on a $20,000 and $30,000 bond, respectively, the sheriff’s office said.