Scam Alerts!
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The Federal Trade Commission is reporting that a federal court has agreed to temporarily shut down a company which the FTC claims allegedly charged consumers thousands of dollars by falsely claiming they had buyers lined up for timeshare sales. According to court papers filed by the FTC, the Orlando, Florida-based defendants, who operated out of mail drop addresses in places such as Las Vegas, Boston, and Orlando, contacted consumers trying to sell their timeshare properties and told them they had buyers for their properties. In order for the sale to proceed, the defendants charged consumers up to $3,150 – either as an “earnest money deposit” to commit them to the sale, or for sale-related expenses – which, consumers were told, would be refunded when the sale closed. The defendants instructed consumers to pay by cashier’s check or money order sent by overnight delivery, and to immediately sign and return a “sales agreement” or “seller’s document” that would be mailed to them.
The complaint alleged that the “sales agreement” was merely a marketing contract for advertising the property, not a sales contract. Consumers who signed the contract and sent their payment to the defendants often were not contacted again, and consumers’ properties were never sold. Consumers who called the defendants were given the run-around, and refund demands were routinely ignored or denied. National Solutions LLC appears to have used numerous aliases and was also doing business as Blue Scape Timeshares International, Country Wide Timeshares, Countrywide Timeshares MA, Landmark Timeshares, Propertys Direct, Quicksale Propertys, Sun Property Networks, Sun Property’s, Universal Propertys, and VIM Timeshares; Landmark Marketing LLC, Blue Scape Timeshares, Country Wide Timeshares International, Propertys DRK, Quick Sale Advisers, Quick Sale International, and Universal Propertys International; Red Solutions LLC, also doing business as City Resorts, and Resort Advisors; Enterprise America, LLC, also doing business as American Timeshares, Exit Week, and Resort Advisors International; Investments Group of Florida, LLC, also doing business as Resort Advisors AM; Multiglobe LLC, also doing business as Universal Propertys The lawsuit also names the individuals as Leandro Velazquez; Samuel Velazquez; Joel Velazquez; Kiomary Cruz; Edgar Gonzalez; Vicente Virgilio; and Aaron Weiss. Reports of poor customer service have unfortunately been posted in several online discussions about many timeshare developers, but a new issue reported on ConsumerAffairs.com may be one of the worst examples (it the claim is in fact true- as always read everything online with a healthy dose of skepticism!) of a lack of effective communication between an individual owner and their resort management company.
... “They stated that my account had a balance of $526.82, which included a late fee of $25.00 and interest of $34.14,” Kristine, of Northbridge, Mass., told ConsumerAffairs.com. “I explained that this had all been paid except for the $100.00 check that was returned to me. They looked at the records on my account and said they did not receive five checks that I had in my bill pay account.” But Kristine said she called her bank and obtained copies of the five cancelled checks. Kristine said she was told it was too late, the unit was already in foreclosure. If Kristine has the cancelled checks, and there are no other issues, it seems strange that there is no way to stop the foreclosure, whose timing seems a little suspicious, to say the least. It doesn't appear that Kristine will get to the bottom of this without a lawyer...." What many timeshare owners don't understand about vacation ownership programs is that when purchasing a non-deeded membership such as The Club from DRI, consumers don't always receive many of the common protections that are taken for granted with fee simple deeds. "Foreclosures" and "membership cancellations" can happen very quickly. A foreclosure process that would normally be expected to take months in traditional real estate can instead be simply a matter of clicks on a client service management program. On a positive note for Diamond Resorts, there appear to be two employees who are both willing and able to assist DRI owners resolve any communication issues such as the example above: Chief Experience Officer [email protected] Executive Resolutions [email protected] If you believe that you have been a victim of poor customer service with Diamond Resorts International, or that your timeshare ownership has been improperly foreclosed or cancelled, I would strongly urge you to take the time to attempt to contact either of these individuals and explain your situation to them. You may find that it is simply a matter of communicating with someone empowered by the company to actually assist you and resolve the problem. A timeshare developer never intends to alienate or frustrate their clients (remember- most developers earn a management fee every time you pay your annual fees), but as with any large commercial business there can sometimes be a perceived disconnect between the individual consumer and the company's managers. Kudo's to Diamond Resorts for creating positions to try and Article Sheds Light on H.E.S. Systems Hiring Practices- 20 Employees were Work-Release Inmates!7/18/2011
Authorities will also have to answer some interesting questions about the recent swat team raid on H.E.S. Systems for possible telemarketing, timeshare, and credit card related consumer fraud that is estimated to have swindled more than $8.5 million dollars from consumers.
Follows is an excerpt from an article in the Orlando Sentinel. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-07-13/news/os-orlando-police-timeshare-scam-sear20110713_1_time-share-scam-orlando-police-raid-time-share-owners "...70 employees were working in the second-floor office, east of Bennett Road. A few were detained after a check of everyone's identification, and some said police took their cell phones and other electronics. About two dozen workers watched from across the street after being released, many angrily denouncing the raid and police. No one was arrested. Twenty of the employees are Orange County work-release inmates, corrections spokesman Allen Moore said. The company had passed a background check, and there had been no problems in the year that it had been authorized to employ people in work release, he said. As of Wednesday, H.E.S. Systems is no longer part of the program. Police said the company has had several incarnations under different names. None was doing legitimate business, investigators said....." I have left a message with the Orange County Correction Department Media Relations Team to request information relating to the total number of work-release inmates that are currently employed by telemarketing copanies, but as yet have not gotten any type of response. Authorities State H.E.S. Systems Served as Credit Card Processor for Millions in Timeshare Scams7/14/2011
Another report on the police raid of HES Systems in Orlando states that this company may have been involved in processing credit card charges for a number of timeshare scams that may have totalled more than $8 million in fraudulent activity.
See the WESH video by clicking HERE. Police also stated that the same group ran a credit card scheme that promised to lower interest rates for a $995. upfront fee, but consumers reported that once the fee was charged, no service was performed and no refunds were given. My question is quite simple: Is the credit card institution that provided the vendor account also responsible for being a party to this fraud? There must certainly have been many attempts by consumers to charge back the fees that were debited that should have alerted the financial companies to the potential for fraud. Often, these scams involve some type of delay tactics being employed to allow at least 90 days to pass from the time of the original charge. Most credit cards will only allow chargebacks within that first three month window- and automatically reject them after that point.. However, common sense would say that if a company creates hundreds of chargeback attempts after that 90 day window closes- that some type of investigation should be done to ensure that consumers are not simply being swindled. Since the vast majority of telemarketing scams involve payments made by credit card- perhaps our legislators should look at creating oversight that automatically reports high percentages of chargeback requests to state investigators- whether or not those requests are granted. The only way to effectively target scammers is to do so financially. There will always be individuals who seek to steal from others regardless of the eventual consequences. Impacting the flow of money may be a very effective way to combat these boiler room operators! An online source has indicated that a potential consumer scam is originating from Chicago with promises that consumers have won a "free gift". In reality, the article claims that the telemarketing campaign is simply trying to lure consumers into attending a high pressure sales presentation for timeshares and vacation packages.
..... "The phone message assures you that they are not telemarketers, that they know you are on the "Do Not Call List" and obviously they wouldn't be calling if they weren't legitimate, they say, and tell you that you have won a prize.".... If you believe that you have been a victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by a company operating out of Illinois, you can report the crime to the Illinois Attorney General at http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/. Consumers can also report telemarketing and Do Not Call violations at the website of the Federal Communications Commission at http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm. Another Orlando telemarketing office has been raided by authorities for allegedly defrauding consumers out of millions in fake timeshare sales and upfront fees.
Radio station WDBO reports that Orlando Swat Team members executed a search warrant at 4401 East Colonial Drive, confiscating records and equipment used by a telemarketing operation. WFTV Orlando also questions whether the business is even licensed..... "It's unclear if H.E.S. is licensed because WFTV could not find any records with the state, but the 70 people who work in the business claim it is licensed. The telemarketers defended the business and said they don't sell timeshares or vacation packages. "We are a legit company. We help people get out of credit card debt. Police say it's timeshare. They are totally wrong," said H.E.S. employee Jamie Magsam...... No information has been found to further identify the business or its owners at this time. If you believe that you have been a victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by this telemarketing group, please report the crime to the Florida Attorney General's office at http://myfloridalegal.com/timeshares. Timeshare Owners File Suit Against Manhattan Club Developer for Fraud & Breach of Covenant7/14/2011
Cranesnewyork.com is reporting that a group of timeshare owners have filed a lawsuit against the owners and operators of the Manhattan Club, a well known New York timeshare. For years there have been complaints and discussion groups debating the perceived lack of availability for timeshare owners, fueled in large part by ever increasing annual maintenance fees reportedly just under $2,500.
Allegedly, while owner availability can be difficult to obtain- there are numerous non-owner rentals offered on various websites including Expedia, Travelocity, and others. " “The sponsors and other entities are being sued for committing fraud,” said Steven Blau of the law firm of Blau Brown & Leonard, which represents the plaintiffs. “Timeshare owners paid valuable money and they are not being permitted to use the apartment, even if they are requesting the unit nine months to a year early.” The lawsuit filed on June 28th claims that the developer “intentionally and fraudulently engage in the continuous and unconscionable practice of overselling the occupancy capacity of the 286 time-share units by renting them throughout the year to the general public through Expedia, Hotel.com and other Internet-based travel websites,” according to the lawsuit. “As a result, a significant percentage of holders of flexible timeshare ownership interests are precluded from reserving the use and occupancy of their time-share units…and are routinely told by defendants that ‘availability is on a first-come first serve basis' and ‘there are no available [units].'” The Palm Beach Post is reporting that another group of timeshare con artists is being targeted by prosecutors in a criminal complaint posted July 7th in the United States District Court in West Palm Beach.
James Michael Tomasso, Wensley Robin McFarlane and Nicholas Charles Higgins have been accused of conspiring to commit wire and mail fraud through telemarketing call centers operating under a variety of business names including Euroamerican Timeshares LLC, E.A.T Sales LLC and National Timeshare Liquidators, the complaint said. The report states that these timeshare scams are estimated to have bilked consumers out of more than $3million in upfront fees, without selling or transferring any timeshare interests as promised. If you believe that you have been a victim of any type of consumer fraud perpetrated by these individuals or companies, please take the time to report the crime to the Florida Attorney Generals office at http://myfloridalegal.com/timeshares An article in the Island Packet sheds light on questionable marketing and operating tactics allegedly being used by a company called Cancer Check America which is under investigation by the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners. The article states that the company marketed scans at booths in local festivals and farmer's markets, and used "high pressure" presentations to convince patients to sign contracts for body scans scheduled over a period of years.
David Haddad, the sales manager for Cancer Check America, has a questionable past in the timeshare industry. The article claims that Haddad was sued by the Indiana Attorney General's Office in 2007 for fraudulent timeshare transactions and was ordered to pay more than $450,000 in restitution and penalties. Another article in the Island Packet states that the Illinois Attorney General's office has also filed a complaint against David Haddad for "unfair and deceptive business practices" involving a Chicago based business called Heart Check America- which operated with the same type of marketing tactics by offering free CT scans and then attempted to upsell patients into a package of exams and procedures. ABC News is reporting that the owner of Universal Marketing Solutions, and Creative Marketing Solutions has pled guilty to federal charges that her telemarketing companies commited mail fraud and wire fraud in relation to a timeshare marketing scam. Jenifer Kirk now awaits sentencing which could result in her imprisonment for up to 25 years, as well as a monetary fine of $250,000.
In just over two years, Kirk's companies reportedly stole more than $30million from timeshare owners by cold calling with the promise that a buyer had been found for their unwanted timeshare. The owners were required to pay thousands of dollars in upfront "closing costs", but later discovered that no sale ever occurred and no refunds were given. The article also goes on to state that former employees of Kirk also started another scam company called Real Timeshare Marketing using the same scam to steal more than a million dollars from consumers. Darnell Disroe, Michael Lentine, and Michael Starace have also pled guilty to federal charges and face both imprisonment and steep fines. Hopefully, these stiff penalties will serve as a warning and discourage other timeshare scam artists from preying on unsuspecting consumers. This also should serve as a clarion call to timeshare owners who have already been scammed, encouraging the victims to report consumer fraud and take action against these criminals. |
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