Arizona Attorney General investigates Sun State Pools as complaints mount

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - FOX 10 Investigates coverage continues on the Scottsdale-based pool company under scrutiny by state officials after dozens of complaints were filed regarding unfinished or shoddy work.

The backstory:

A week ago, it was learned the Arizona Registrar of Contractors had revoked Sun State Pools' license. Now, Arizona's top prosecutor is getting involved with a criminal investigation underway. But some customers are concerned the amount of money owed will never be recouped.

What they're saying:

"I believe in the best of everybody and I guess this got me this time," said Kristy Opela, a Sun State Pools customer.

Opela is yet another Sun State Pools customer frustrated with the unfinished work she has been left with on her Wittmann property. She says her journey with the company started back in late 2024.

"I made my initial deposit in December … they didn’t get me a permit until New Year's Eve ’25," Opela said.

From there, Opela says, there were large gaps in progress and communication. She talked to an attorney, but then a worker came out to her property in the spring.

"He was telling me they were going to pull people off other projects to come over because it had taken so long, so I was pretty excited about it," Opela said.

Instead, she says progress halted again, and then she was told her project manager had been fired. While at her primary home in Nebraska, Opela says she figured out a potential reason why.

"The pictures came from my friend, and he said, ‘I see why he got fired.’ They trenched through my septic leach line," Opela said.

Dig deeper:

As of July 2, the Arizona Registrar of Contractors website has over 30 open complaints against Sun State Pools, and many of the homeowners who have shared their stories feature something like a large hole in their backyard and empty promises from this company.

The company now has an eviction notice tacked onto the door of its Scottsdale building. The doorbell was rung at a home listed on the LLC registration for the company, where a truck outside has the business name on it, but there was no answer.

Meanwhile, the Victims of Sun State Pools Facebook group, started by customer Meghan Cox, continues to grow.

"It’s not just homeowners, it’s also vendors. I’ve had vendors say they’re owed $300,000, $150,000, $170,000, $40,000 and $50,000," Cox said.

Cox says the criminal investigation launched by Attorney General Kris Mayes' office is encouraging, but there is an overall concern from customers that the regulatory board did not respond to the mounting complaints sooner.

"When I look at policy and government overhaul, that seems like a really glaring issue that everyone who has talked to the ROC is pretty disappointed," Cox said.

"I understand pulling the trigger on some of that too soon is an issue also, but this, I feel like they should’ve investigated and done more than what they’re doing," Opela said.

The Arizona Registrar of Contractors does have a recovery fund for customers, but it has a cap of $200,000 that can be recouped from a single contractor.

Both the state regulatory agency and the attorney general's office say they cannot comment on active investigations, and no response has been received from anyone with Sun State Pools.

What you can do:

Arizona AG Consumer Complaint Form

• https://consumer-complaint.azag.gov/PublicComplaint/begin.aspx

AZ ROC Speaker Request Form

• https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeO4zAh1j2B3w6-eN8XFZv3lMKf-pnft32x9Hd55CkggrktLA/viewform

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