Scam Alerts!
|
Scroll down this page to search and view possible scam alerts that are reported by our readers! You can also search using the categories list or the text box tool.
|
|
You can see the local news video HERE.
The full story is HERE. ...........For the second time in a month, police swarmed a suspected timeshare telemarketing scheme in Orlando on Wednesday. According to police, 11 people were taken into custody for questioning. Four were later arrested. Police said they expect all involved may eventually be charged. Police arrested 19-year-old Dominion Crupi and 26-year-old Michael Malgesini on charges of unlicensed telemarketing and scheme to defraud. Suspected employee 27-year-old Julie Spencer was arrested on an out-of-county warrant involving a misdemeanor traffic violation. Steven Svopa, 23, was charged with driving with a suspended license. The raid happened in an office building on Hiawassee Boulevard in the MetroWest area. Police say the suite targeted was being used as a so-called "boiler room," where telemarketers cold-called timeshare owners from illegally obtained lists, claiming to have a buyer for their vacation property. "They were given a hard-sell," said Sgt. Amy Ameye, of the city's economic crimes unit. "They were told, 'If you send money… we will get the paperwork going, we will get your timeshare sold for you ASAP.'" However, investigators say there were never any buyers. Instead, they say the telemarketers were pocketing up-front fees and offering no service in return............... Read the full article HERE.
Florida law enforcement authorities closed down another timeshare telemarketing business in Orlando on January 13th that investigators said was posing as a brokering service. Four people were arrested on Thursday, Kurt Neyworth, Andrew Nance, Eric Isaksen, and Catherine Keller. Police said they expect many more of the people working for the business — if not all — will eventually be charged. Police said the scam was operating under several including Resort Services Group, Resort Time Share INC and Resort Sales Group. Police had been investigating the group since December. The suspects arrested were Kurt Neyworth, 32, Andrew Nance, 28, and Eric Isaksen and Catherine Keller, both 34. Police said the four face charges of employing unlicensed sales people, telephone or communications soliciting without a license and a third, licensing-related charge. State business records also list Isaksen as a manager of a business called Resort Vacation Specialists LLC, which dissolved in 2009. If you believe that you have been a victim of this scam, please take a moment to report the fraud by clicking HERE! Reports state that the business bank accounts have been seized by authorities, so there may be potential for consumer refunds once the investigation and prosecution are completed.. I wanted to thank all readers for their support over the past year, and to ask for your continued support throughout 2011! The new year will be an interesting time for the resale industry. A new Attorney General takes over in Florida, and is likely to be pivotal in the ongoing fight against timeshare fraud! Best wishes to Pam Bondi, as she takes over the reins.
The good news is that over the holiday season reports of consumer fraud related to timeshare has slowed.. The bad news is that may be simply a result of the distraction of the holiday season itself rather than a decline in activity by the scammers! As always, please share any information you find about possible timeshare related consumer fraud and scams, and I'll try to keep this platform active to help spread the word. I will continue to preach that timeshare owners exercise extreme caution when dealing with any type of timeshare resale or marketing company- and hopefully, together we'll help teach others to NEVER PAY AN UPFRONT FEE! A reader has contacted me to report a possible timeshare related scam from a company called Corporate Management Group (or Corporate M.G.) showing an address in Chicago, Illinois.
"............Attempt to sell our vacation property exposed us to a scam similar to an article I read on your site unfortunately after loosing $7400. to a company called Corporate Management Group whose Director is Kevin Banks. Our reports have been filed with BBB of Chicago, Ill., Attorney General's Office of Ill., FBI of Ill., and an online complaint entity. Any suggestions to help us to get our monies returned is appreciated. Exposure of this company is necessary. My last contact with them indicated that the company is still up and running.........." V.McD**************** I attempted to contact the company by phone, but it was answered by a gentleman who stated that I had called a residence, not a business. When I asked if a Kevin Banks was available- he hung up the phone. When I called back, it went directly to a voicemail that did not identify the recipient. The company has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau for failing to respond to registered complaints. The website's About Us page states, "Corporate Management Group has been in the timeshare business for over 20 years. With thousands of listings and sales.....", however I was unable to find an Illinois brokerage license under either the business name or under the name of Kevin Banks. The physical address shown for the company is actually the location of the famous Chicago landmark, the Merchandise Mart, a massive commercial building complex with more than four million square feet of space. No suite or other identifying information was found. When I called the property management company for Merchandise Mart- the receptionist stated that they did not have any tenant under either the business name or the individual name. She did state that she had spoken with individuals in the past, as well as representatives from the Chicago Police Department- and believed that there was a timeshare scam using their address, but said that the company name always seemed to be changing. If you have any information about this business or possible scam, or believe that you have also been the victim of fraud perpetrated by this company of by Kevin Banks, please file a report with the Illinois Attorney Generals Office by clicking HERE!. Consumer Tips:
Be wary of the Too-Good-To-Be-True Claims When it Comes to Resales The company's salespeople are likely to claim that the timeshare resale market in the area where your resort is located is "hot" and that they are being overwhelmed with buyer requests for your resort. In some cases, the salespeople may even tell you that they have a buyer waiting in the wings who wants to buy your timeshare. Be skeptical of these types of claims. Remember the timeshare resale market is likely not "hot" and it is unlikely that there is a buyer ready and willing to buy your timeshare. Consider Other Options When it Comes to Resale You may want to try selling your timeshare "by owner", by placing an advertisement in a newsletter or magazine read by potential timeshare buyers. Or you may want to list your timeshare with a licensed real estate broker in the area where your resort is located. As an alternative, you could contract with a company which allows you to exchange your timeshare for a unit in a different area. Question Why You Have To Pay The Up-Front-Fee Most timeshare resale companies require you to pay a hefty advance listing fee before the advertising/marketing of your timeshare can take place. You should question what the fee is for, and what the company’s refund policy is regarding these funds. In the alternative, you may want to opt for a company which will wait for its fee until the resale of your timeshare occurs. The Florida AG website contains great information for consumers who want to learn about the secondary market for timeshares. You'll also find updates on current litigation, press releases, as well as an area where consumers can easily report cases of timeshare related fraud! Click HERE to visit the Florida Attorney General website. I just wanted to add another reminder that consumers who read these alerts must always remember that these reports often contain allegations of fraud only- and that simply because a company is named herein does not always indicate they are guilty of any fraud or crime.
Always take the time to perform your full due diligence, and consult with your choice of legal counsel for specific advice about your own personal situation. If you are involved with any timeshare related transaction that makes you feel uncomfortable- trust your instincts and back away! Never make an impulse decision to buy or sell a timeshare or vacation club. Often, where there is smoke there is fire- but occasionally we will discover that it is in fact just smoke.. Unfortunately, the mainstream media often fails to follow up with fraud reports once they are proven to be false. If you find any report contained herein that you believe is not accurate, don't hesitate to contact me with any links or information you have to the contrary! These alerts are intended to provide general information about possible scams only, and each report should contain a link to the originally published source. If you find any links that are no longer operational, please report them HERE. Read the fill RDO press release here.
Earlier this week, the Office of Fair Trading announced that it is filing suit against three companies involved in the marketing or sale of holiday club memberships, alleging that the companies misled people about the sale of their timeshares. The companies named are Incentive Leisure Group Limited, Personal Travel Group Limited and Geo Demographic Market Research Ltd (formerly known as the Direct Marketing Partnership Group Ltd). The action claims that these companies encourage consumers to attend presentations, on the basis that they would be able to get dispose of their timeshare, However, when people come to the presentations, they are instead sold very expensive holiday club memberships. Members of the public who believe they may have been defrauded by any of these groups should either contact Consumer Direct (http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/) or alternatively, RDO’s experienced enforcement team on [email protected] As always, the best way to avoid timeshare related scams is simply to NEVER pay any type of upfront fee to sell or liquidate an unwanted timeshare ownership or holiday club membership! It is being reported that Spanish authorities have arrested twenty-five people suspected in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme which was targeting owners of timeshare vacation property in the Canary Islands. The fraud is the same basic scam that is also being reported here in the US targeting owners of Mexican properties.
The suspects contacted the timeshare owners, offered to buy their timeshares at prices much higher than the secondary market will allow, and later lured the owners into paying what turned out to be non-existent taxes or transfer fees. The timeshare property never actually changed hands, and the suspects vanished, only to surface elsewhere and repeat the alleged scam, police said. If convicted of fraud, they could face up to six years in prison, a police spokeswoman said. A timeshare owner has reported a possible new resale scam involving a company called West Palm Resale Brokers operating out of West Palm Beach, Florida.
The owner reported receiving an unsolicited phone call with an offer to buy her timeshare. She was told that there were no upfront fees and the the broker earned a commission at closing. She was sent a sale contract (see a copy of another contract from this group posted HERE) that looks very legitimate and professional. She states that she questioned the agent, Frank Winters, that the contract states several times that West Palm Resale Brokers will try to find a buyer, and that she was told that a buyer was already in place. She was told that everything would be handled by the closing company. Later, she received a call from the "closing agent" who told her than there was now a "tax" that must be paid for timeshares in Mexico prior to the release of escrow and asked her to send a payment of $1,600. immediately before escrow could be released. The "closing agent" tried to pressure her into sending money immediately, or threatened that the buyer would cancel. The owner was still hesitant (she had heard all the warnings about never paying any type of upfront fee) and called her resort.. Needless to say, they told her that there was no such tax, and that this group was simply trying to scam her. I tried to locate business licenses or a real estate license for either West Palm Resale Brokers or Frank Winters and was unable to do so. I also attempted to call to give the company a chance to respond or to provide the license number of a broker of record, but the calls were directed to an automatic response system which stated that no voicemail could be left. Finally, the website for the "company" states that West Palm Resale Brokers has been in the timeshare business for twenty years, but the earliest documentation I have been able to find about them is a website registry dated Sept 2, 2010. Because of these issues, I urge all consumers to take the utmost care before engaging into any type of real estate transaction with this company and to insist on receiving and verifying license information about the "brokerage" as well as the "title company" handling these contracts. The timeshare owner is filing complaints with the Florida Attorney Generals office, as well as with the State of Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation for unlicensed activity. (The complaint form can be found HERE!) If you have been contacted by this organization, or feel that you have been scammed by an unlicensed con artist- please take the time to report the crime to help stop these scams from victimizing others! Busy day today for the scammers!
I just received notice from Royal Resorts out of Mexico that their owners have been reporting getting bogus emails about the Royal Haciendas Resort in Rivera Maya. The company named on the email is the Ironwood Group which is allegedly stating they are affiliated with the resort developer. The legal department for Royal Resorts is investigating the issue, and is advising all owners to please disregard such bogus emails and to please not reply or provide any personal or private information to the sender. Royal Resorts has no knowledge of this company nor is it affiliated with them in any way. |
Past Scam Alerts:
All
|
RSS Feed