Nick Stevens found guilty of deceptively charging families for undelivered swimming pools

Landscaper, unlicensed pool builder and former AFL footballer Nick Stevens has been found guilty of deceptively charging families tens of thousands of dollars for pools they never received.

He faced trial in the County Court of Victoria, accused of defrauding six families in Mildura of $171,000 for incomplete or undelivered swimming pools. Stevens was charged with obtaining a financial advantage by deception, using a false document and theft laid as alternatives. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

However, the jury in the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne found Stevens guilty on 12 counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one charge of using a false document.

He was found not guilty on one charge of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, relating to the first victim.

He was refused a bail extension by Judge Fiona Todd and was remanded in custody until his plea hearing in May.

Prosecutor Toni Stokes had alleged that Stevens deceived the six families into paying him $171,000 for pools that were either illegally installed or not provided.

The court heard that Stevens had previously run a landscaping business, and had legally installed some fibreglass pools under supervision. However, the prosecutor alleged that he decided to go out on his own, knowing he was unlicensed.

It was alleged he received tens of thousands of dollars in payment from six families despite knowing he was not qualified as a registered builder and needed a major building contract and domestic building insurance.

The prosecution alleged that three families were left with illegally and shoddily installed swimming pools, while three others were left with “giant holes in their backyards”.

One family received a full refund of $26,500, while another received a partial refund of $10,000.

The court case had a hiccup when the jury was dismissed following issues with videos containing the questioning of witnesses from Stevens’ first trial – which had itself been aborted because a judge could not continue in the case. But a new jury was sworn in and the case continued.

Stevens will return to court on May 21 for a plea hearing.