OGDEN, Utah — A prosecutor called Rob Riley “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
A victim spoke directly to Riley, telling him: “You are not a good person.”
Those were vignettes from Riley’s two recent sentencing hearings. As FOX 13 News first reported in 2023, Riley operated the swimming pool company Triton Pool and Spa.
Victims say Riley took tens of thousands of dollars in deposits that were to go toward new swimming pools. Instead, the victims and prosecutors say, he dug holes and left them with partially finished in-ground bowls. In January of this year, a jury in Ogden convicted Riley of theft by deception and one count of communications fraud. Riley then pleaded guilty to theft or fraud charges in five other cases.
Riley had one sentencing hearing in Ogden in April, then one in Farmington in May. Victims asked the judges to send Riley to prison.
“What should have been an exciting and meaningful investment for my family turned into a deeply stressful and painful experience,” Tiffany Flygare said at the Ogden hearing.
Damages
Flygare’s family hired Riley to tear out and replace their pool in North Ogden. He didn’t finish the job. Court records say the Flygares paid Riley $39,000.
“The damage extends far beyond dollars,” Flygare told the judge. “It has impacted our trust in others and created a lasting stress in our daily lives.”
Thomas Pedersen, the deputy Weber County Attorney who called Riley a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” asked for a prison sentence, too.
Riley’s attorney asked that he be sentenced to pay restitution and given credit for the 14 months he already served in jail – no more incarceration.
“It's impossible to make that restitution amount,” said defense attorney Michael Studebaker, “or any restitution payments if we put him in prison.”
Riley apologized.
“The betrayal of trust and responsibility was huge,” Riley said. “It really was huge.”
Then Riley complained about his treatment in the Weber County jail – even accusing some of his victims of orchestrating assaults against him.
“I've experienced a sexual assault by a corporal while at the jail,” Riley told the judge.
A spokesman for the Weber County Sheriff’s Office told FOX 13 they investigated Riley’s claims and found they had “no merit.”
At the Farmington hearing, more victims got a chance to describe what Riley did to them.
“Robert not only stole over $175,000 and over a year of my time, he robbed me and my family of two years of memories,” said Chad Stratford.
Some victims described how Riley not only didn’t finish the job, what work he did do was often didn’t meet construction code; contractors who replaced Riley had to demolish his work.
Cheryl Ritchie, the Riley customer who said he was “not a good person,” told the judge she ultimately paid more than $346,591.63 for a pool originally contracted for $205,930.
“I accept the responsibility,” Riley said the Farmington hearing, “and I'm sorry that they weren't able to have their pools completed by their dates.”
The sentence
The judges sentenced Riley to prison. In all, he will spend up to 30 years behind bars.
The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will determine how much of that he serves. No parole hearing has yet been scheduled.
As for money, FOX 13 found Riley has been ordered to pay $1.7 million in damages or restitution across 12 different civil and criminal cases.
“I can state with great confidence,” Ethan Rampton, a deputy Davis County attorney, said at the Farmington hearing, “that there are none of the victims in any of Mr. Riley's cases that anticipate ever being made whole.”