TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Three years later, customers of the now-defunct AVCO Marine Construction say an ongoing criminal investigation is moving too slowly, and they question whether they will see accountability.

The Hudson-based company was first exposed by a Better Call Behnken investigation into unfinished work.

Public documents show the owner testified that customers lost about $1.3 million in boat docks and lifts they didn’t receive.

In October 2022, owner Ed Avella filed to liquidate the company.

Amid an investigation from the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Avella agreed to give up his license to settle cases against him in august 2023.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said it transferred criminal investigations to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but frustrated customers said when they inquire, they are told the investigations are “ongoing.”

This week, a spokesperson for the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to 8 On Your Side Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken that they still have an “active investigation that is working toward a conclusion in the near future.”

Avella has denied repeated requests for comment through the years, but when asked in a deposition for a civil lawsuit where the money went, he said it went toward customers’ work and company expenses.

Some customers said they have received money back from the state’s Construction Recovery Fund, but others said they either didn’t hear back or were told they didn’t qualify because the project was not at their “primary” residence.