12 On Your Side Investigates: Imprisoned pool contractor denied shorter sentence

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A woman behind bars after a years-long 12 On Your Side Investigation into bad pool contractors has been denied of a shorter sentence.

On June 23, Heather Alford appeared in court, asking to have her sentence cut short.

Four days later, on June 27, Judge Barry Fleming denied her request.

According to court records, the decision was made after Judge Barry Fleming heard testimonies of Alford’s victims and arguments made by counsel.

She joined the court via Zoom from Pulaski State Prison.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

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The 12 On Your Side Investigators were in the courtroom as Alford pleaded with a new judge to let her go home.

Judge Blanchard has since retired, but when he originally handed down their sentence back in 2022, Heather and her husband, Bruce, said they had $120,000 in an account for restitution.

As of June 23, not a single victim has seen any of that money.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Natalie Paine told Judge Fleming it was just another “bait-and-switch” for the victims in a case fraught with delays and appeals.

When Judge Fleming asked Heather Alford’s attorney why that money had not gone to the victims as ordered, he told the court the Alfords had borrowed it from friends and family. He explained the Alfords believed they would be sentenced to probation - not prison time. Their plan had been to pay that money back to their friends and family, but once they realized they would be behind bars and not able to work, their friends and family took the money back.

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Alford explained she is not able to pay any restitution while in prison. She says she wants to be released so she can work to pay the $575,000 owed in total to her victims.

She also tearfully asked to be reunited with her two children, ages 11 and 12.

We first exposed Bruce and Heather Alford’s pool construction scam back in 2018.

The victims said the Alfords took their money, promising to build swimming pools, but the work was never finished.

In some cases, it wasn’t even started.

A number of the families hired the Alfords to build therapy pools for family members with disabilities or those recovering from illnesses and surgeries.

When 12 On Your Side started looking into Georgia-Lina Pools, the Alford’s company, many victims were told their only recourse was to file a lawsuit in civil court.

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After our investigation began to expose possible criminal behavior, the mugshots started to pile up.

In Columbia County, Bruce and Heather Alford faced 27 felony counts each, 54 total, tied to 27 unfinished pools.

On September 22, 2022, they pleaded guilty to their felony charges, but they never actually admitted guilt.

Both Alfords took a so-called Alford plea. The name is a coincidence; an Alford plea is a guilty plea, although the defendant maintains their innocence and admits the prosecution’s evidence would probably result in a guilty verdict.

In that September 2022 hearing, Judge James Blanchard sentenced the husband and wife to 40 years each, with 15 of those years to be served behind bars.