Kurt Wittin has gone by many names, but his former customers reserve their harshest for the man they allege charged them tens of thousands for a pool — and never delivered.
They’ve called him a fraudster and a snake-oil salesman. One, posting to an online support group of past clients across Canada and the U.S., says he dreams “of holding [Kurt’s] head under water in one of his pools until he dies.”
Now, on Facebook, a group of purported victims is sounding the alarm about Wittin’s newest business venture.
Although the RCMP have charged the Manitoba-based man with 26 counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of obstruction of justice, with a trial scheduled to begin later this year, he appears to have started a new business offering an identical product under a different name.
The public-facing contact for Capitol Manufacturing, a new company offering shipping-container pools, is Kurt Martin. CBC has determined that this is the same Kurt Wittin, using his legal middle name, Martin, as his surname.
Wittin incorporated Capitol Manufacturing under the same address as his past pool companies, which include Kustom Container Builders, Swiss Coast Pools, Seventeen Pools and 204 Container Homes & Pools.
Capitol Manufacturing’s website claims it has over 14 years of experience building container pools. However, Manitoba corporate records show that Wittin registered Capitol Steel & Manufacturing, also known as Capital Manufacturing & Fabrication, in October 2024, a week before he was first charged with fraud.
Capitol Manufacturing sells custom shipping container pools starting at approximately $40,000 for a 20-foot model, and has advertised in the Globe and Mail, among other newspapers, offering “fast installation and innovative design.” The claim stands in contrast to the accounts of customers of his previous enterprises.
Wittin, who has also gone by Kurt Martin, Kurt Witten and Kurt Witton, has been sued — at least once successfully — in civil litigation for promising pools that were never delivered.
CBC News asked Wittin why he was using another name, and why he had begun a similar pool business when so many issues with the previous business remained unresolved. Neither he, nor his lawyer, responded to those questions.
“Because Mr. Wittin’s matters are before the court,” Martin J. Pollock wrote, “he is unable to engage with the media.”
More than a dozen former customers have spoken with CBC describing complaints with his previous companies. CBC News has not spoken with any customers of Capitol Manufacturing.
In a 2023 interview with CBC Marketplace at his facility in Headingley, Man., Wittin acknowledged some customers had waited years for a pool they expected in weeks.
He also admitted to offering to refund a customer’s money if they did not speak about their experience with journalists.
“Moving forward, I have to make it right,” Wittin told CBC News at the time.
The latest venture, Capitol Manufacturing, mentions on its website the pool appearing on HGTV. That product placement from Wittin’s previous company, Seventeen Pools, is what many customers say led to them believing he was trustworthy. They have other opinions now.
Wittin has advertised Capitol Manufacturing’s pools on Facebook as recently as last week.
His trial is expected to begin in December, according to the RCMP.
