OMAHA – An Omaha-area pool contractor will serve time in prison after a series of First Alert 6 investigations revealed illegal business practices.
Aaron Stanger, 39, was sentenced to four years in prison for three counts of theft by deception totaling $5,000. In February, Stanger pleaded “no contest” to the charges listed above. With enough time, he could be released in two years.
In October 2023, an Omaha homeowner claimed to have paid Premier Pools and Spas $75,000 to install an in-ground pool. The company dug a hole on the victim’s property and left it unfinished for over six months, prompting her to call First Alert 6.
The initial report prompted several other victims to come forward and share their similar experiences with Stanger’s Premier Pool and Spas, eventually leading Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers to file a lawsuit against the company in early November 2023.
On November 30, 2023, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office arrested Stanger for seven counts of theft by deception. Four of them were dismissed as part of his plea deal.
Stanger is now going to prison, nearly 18 months after the initial First Alert 6 investigation.
“I never acted with the intent to deceive, steal, or cause suffering,” Stanger told the court at his sentencing hearing Wednesday. “I am fully aware that my actions, even when not maliciously intended, cause real hardship and emotional stress for others. “I am sorry.”
Stanger claimed that COVID contributed to the failure of his pool company. He stated that he sold his house to help with ongoing payments in several settlements.
To continue repaying victims, he requested probation.
“I believe the best outcome for the victims, my family, and this community is for me to remain active [and] working,” Stanger told the crowd.
However, presiding Douglas County District Court Judge Shelly Stratman stated that Stanger’s actions, regardless of his intent, harmed others.
“You took their trust, so they probably will have a hard time contracting with anyone in the future,” a judge said. “You took their peace. You took away their ability to enjoy their own homes.
Even though Judge Stratman told all of the victims in court that they could speak without jeopardizing their civil settlement payments, only one did: Charity Brumbaugh, who emphasized the judge’s point that these types of cases are about more than just money, but also the cost of time and emotion.
“While money is definitely a factor, money can be replaced,” Brumbaugh said. “What we lost cannot.”
She paid Premier Pools and Spas $100,000 to build a pool for her husband, who has Lewy body dementia. Swimming helps to alleviate the suffering. Stanger’s company never completed the project, and she had to pay another contractor an additional $80,000 to do so.
And, while she sympathizes with Stanger’s family, Brumbaugh believes justice was done.
“I think the judge’s sentence is fair,” Brumbaugh said. “I hate to see anyone else’s family hurting, but you can not just take things away from other people and expect not to have any consequences.”
According to Prosecutor Nate Klein, Stanger has repaid his victims a total of $289,000 from the seven cases that led to the original criminal charges, but he still owes them approximately $400,000.