A former employee of The Vacation Ownership Group LLC of Pleasantville, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for conspiring to defraud owners of timeshare properties by offering phony consulting services, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.         

Joseph Saxon, 42, of Brigantine, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Noel L. Hillman to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Judge Hillman imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

 The Vacation Ownership Group, a/k/a VO Group LLC, had offices in Mays Landing, New Jersey, and Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, and claimed to offer to owners of timeshares consulting services that included cancelling, purchasing and upgrading the timeshares.

In 2010, Saxon started working at the VO Group and was trained by VO Group co-owner Adam Lacerda, 31, of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, to call customers using prepared scripts. The defendant called customers and gave them the false impression that he was working for a bank or lending institution. After hearing Saxon’s false representations, some customers sent checks to the VO Group. For example, Saxon falsely told one victim that Saxon was working with the bank that held the victim’s timeshare mortgage and that the bank wanted to settle the loan for a fraction of the price. The victim then mailed a check for $5,925 to the VO Group. Saxon admitted causing more than $120,000 in losses.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hillman sentenced Saxon to three years of supervised release.

Lacerda, who was previously convicted at trial for his role in the scheme, was sentenced to 27 years in prison on June 25, 2015.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark; and special agents from the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Garcia, New York Region, for the investigation. He also thanked the N.J. Department of Labor and Workforce Development for its assistance.

A jury convicts the principal of  a massive telemarketing scheme which operated under the company names Resort Sales Group, Vacation Realty International and Vacation Direct USA. 
Following a nine-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, a federal jury has found one of the ten conspirators in an estimated $10 million resort timeshare telemarketing fraud conspiracy that victimized at least 5000 individuals, many of whom were over age 55, guilty on all 26 counts of an indictment returned in the Northern District of Texas in October 2012.  John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, made the announcement today.

Fabian C. Fleifel, 45, of Winter Springs, Florida, was convicted late yesterday on one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud; nineteen counts of mail fraud telemarketing; and six counts of wire fraud telemarketing.  The jury also found that the conspiracy count affected a financial institution and that the wire fraud and mail fraud counts were in connection with the conduct of telemarketing that victimized ten or more persons over the age of 55.  He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine on the conspiracy conviction and 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the other 25 convictions.  Additionally, the telemarketing enhancements permit the Judge to impose up to an additional 10 years imprisonment.  Judge Fitzwater temporarily remanded him into custody following yesterday’s verdict.

The following eleven coconspirators have pleaded guilty to their respective roles in the scheme and are awaiting sentencing, Edmond Charles Burke, 34, of Sanford, Florida; Kari Lynn Cash, 46, of Winter Park, Florida; Kevin Jacob Frater, 35, of Longwood, Florida; Bradley James Gomez, 36, of Longwood, Florida; Rani F. Khoury, 40, of Lake Mary, Florida; Courtney Darrell Lister, 39, of Midland, Texas; Joseph Bud Ramos, 27, of Tennessee; Armanda Nadine Rizkallah, 32, of Oviedo, Florida; Eric Rosado, of Orlando, Florida, Kevin Sanchez of Orlando, Florida, and Cesar Trinidad of Apopka, Florida. 

The government presented evidence during trial that Fleifel conspired with others to make unsolicited interstate telephone calls to owners of resort timeshare properties to induce them into paying fees associated with the bogus sale of their property.  Fleifel and others opened bank accounts and entered into merchant account agreements to process and collect funds raised in the scheme, and they set up phony mailing addresses to collect funds mailed in by timeshare owners.

Fleifel hired and trained telemarketers to work in boiler rooms he set up.  These telemarketers were instructed to call timeshare owners using scripted sales pitches that falsely represented, for example, that a bona fide buyer was interested in buying their property, that the buyer had paid money into an escrow account, and that the buyer was ready to close on the property.  The telemarketers falsely advised timeshare owners that they would receive all the funds from the sale within days, they must pay a one-time fee to cover the title search and other closing costs, and they would be refunded all fees paid if the sale did not close within 90 days.

After the conspirators obtained money from the timeshare owners, they made additional false and fraudulent statements to lull them and to keep them from investigating the transactions, complaining to law enforcement, or requesting charge backs to their credit cards

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Orlando Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys C.S. Heath and Joseph M. Revesz are prosecuting.

View the full press release HERE>. 

A former employee of The Vacation Ownership Group LLC, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $3 million in restitution for conspiring to defraud owners of timeshare properties, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Eric Reilly, 34, of Galloway, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Reilly entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman, who also imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The Vacation Ownership Group, a/k/a VO Group LLC, purported to offer owners of timeshares consulting services, including timeshare cancellation services. In September 2010, Reilly started working at the VO Group and was trained by VO Group managers to call using a prepared script and regularly lie to customers. Reilly would falsely state he was calling in response to a complaint they had made to timeshare developers and lenders. He gave customers the false impression that he was working for Wyndham Vacation Resorts, a developer of timeshare resorts. Reilly then would falsely represent that the VO Group could pay off the customers’ timeshares or have their timeshares cancelled. Reilly falsely told some customers that their credit would not be damaged if they stopped paying for their timeshares. Reilly gave some customers “references” who were actually VO Group employees posing as satisfied customers. After hearing Reilly’s false representations, some customers sent checks to the VO Group, including one customer who sent the VO Group a $31,385 check. Reilly admitted to causing more than $70,000 in losses.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hillman sentenced Reilly to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $3,040,767.54 in restitution.

After a long wait for many timeshare owners who believe they were victims of a timeshare scam perpetrated by employees of the Vacation Ownership Group, the jury is expected to begin final deliberations next week. The jury is charged with deciding whether a group of individuals knowingly orchestrated a  multimillion-dollar time-share mortgage release scam.  An article on Philly.com offers new details in the trial proceeding, including a note intercepted by deputies urging the company owners, Adam and Ashley Lacerda, to flee the country to avoid prosecution. Follows is an excerpt from the article:

"...Resnick, in custody on charges of domestic violence, passed a note to Ashley 
Lacerda, who was detained due to evidence she tried to contact a witness.
The note, which was intercepted by U.S. Marshals and read into the record out
  of the presence of the jury, urged Ashley to tell her husband, who was not in 
custody, to flee the country.

'Go to Bermuda'
"Don't risk another day in jail - Go to Bermuda - small private plane - from 
there Cuba or Venezuela - ask for Asylum - cause mistrial - case falls apart 
without him here - saves us all," the note read.
The government did not seek additional charges against Resnick but motioned 
for Adam Lacerda to be detained, calling him a potential flight risk. Judge Noel
  L. Hillman granted the motion and revoked Lacerda's bail.
On Thursday, the government finished its summation, followed by five hours of
  closing arguments from the five defense attorneys.
Central to the case is testimony from seven former VO employees who pleaded 
guilty to the fraud and directly implicated the defendants on the stand.
Defense attorneys have described those seven as liars, criminals, and 
"junkies" (several admitted to taking five to 10 oxycodine pills a day and 
drinking large quantities of alcohol while on the job)...."

Please read the full article at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20130830_5_await_verdict_in_Camden_court_in_alleged_time-share_scam.html#38I7gr96mcI357MY.99

Hopefully, jury deliberation and sentencing will proceed quickly and provide ample punishment if these individuals are found guilty. This trial, even though it appears to have taken some bizarre turns, can serve as a
fantastic example to victims of timeshare fraud that reporting these crimes does make a difference! Always take the time to report consumer fraud- it's the only way to stop these con artists!

Real the entire Federal Bureau of Investigation press release by clicking HERE.. 

"... A former employee of The Vacation Ownership Group LLC admitted to conspiring to defraud owners of timeshare properties by offering phony consulting services, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. She also admitted to illegally collecting unemployment benefits. Catherine Bannigan, 58, of Ventnor, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden federal court to an
information charging her with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of wire fraud.

 According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The Vacation Ownership Group, a/k/a VO Group LLC, had offices in Mays Landing, New Jersey, and Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, and claimed to offer consulting services to owners of timeshares, including cancelling, purchasing, and upgrading the timeshares.

 In 2010, Bannigan started working at the VO Group and was trained by VO Group co-owner Adam Lacerda to call customers using prepared scripts. The defendant called customers and gave them the false impression that they were working for a bank or lending institution. After hearing the Bannigan’s false representations,
some customers sent checks to the VO Group. For example, Bannigan falsely told victim “JL” that a committee at the VO Group was meeting, that Bannigan had scheduled JL’s case to be heard by the committee, and that she needed to mark her complaint resolved or unresolved to induce JL to send the VO Group money.  Bannigan admitted causing more than $70,000 in losses.... 
 
... On January 23, 2013, co-owners Adam Lacerda and Ashley Lacerda and other members of the VO Group were charged in a superseding indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and other charges. Additional members of the VO Group were also charged by criminal complaint in April 2012. To date, 12 members of the VO Group have pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. As for the Lacerdas and other defendants who have not been convicted in this case, the charges and allegations against them are merely accusations, and they are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 The mail and wire fraud conspiracy charge to which Bannigan pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense. The wire fraud charge is  also punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 4, 2013.

CAMDEN, N.J. – A former employee in the New Jersey offices  of the Vacation Ownership Group LLC admitted in court to conspiring to defraud  owners of timeshare properties by offering phony consulting services while also  illegally collecting unemployment benefits, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman  announced.

 Brian  Corley, a/k/a “John Corley,” 28, of Little River, S.C., and formerly of Egg Harbor,  N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden  federal court to a charge of one count of conspiracy to  commit mail and wire fraud and one count of mail fraud. 

According  to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

 The  Vacation Ownership Group, a/k/a VO Group LLC, had offices in Mays Landing and  Egg Harbor Township, N.J., and claimed to offer consulting services to owners  of timeshares, including cancelling, purchasing and upgrading the timeshares. 

Corley started working at the VO  Group in March 2010, where he was trained by a co-owner of the group, Adam  Lacerda, to call customers using prepared scripts. Corley admitted that he would  call customers and give them the false impression that he was working for a  bank or lending institution, claiming he had the customer’s “complaint file”  from a timeshare resort developer in front of him. Corley admitted that he  regularly lied to customers in order to perpetrate the scam. Some of those customers  then sent checks to the VO Group.  The scheme caused more than $200,000 in  losses to cnsumers.

 Among other things, Corley admitted  that he falsely told a customer that if the customer paid $25,000 to the VO  Group and exchanged timeshare points, the group would eliminate the customer’s  approximately $95,000 mortgage debt with a timeshare developer. 

Corley also  devised a separate scheme to defraud the New Jersey Department of Labor by  collecting unemployment compensation benefits while working at the VO Group. He  admitted to applying for and collecting unemployment compensation benefits to  which he was not entitled. Court documents show Corley illegally received $16,936  as a result.

Each of the two counts to which  Corley pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison  and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense.  Sentencing is currently scheduled for July 29,  2013.

Read the full press release by clicking HERE.

The FBI issued a press release providing new details in the prosecution targeting the owners and employees of the Vacation Ownership Group. Follows is an excerpt of the press release. Read the full release by clicking HERE.

"... CAMDEN, NJ—A former employee of The Vacation Ownership Group LLC admitted today to conspiring to defraud owners of timeshare properties, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Eric Reilly, 34, of Galloway, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Reilly entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The Vacation Ownership Group, a/k/a VO Group LLC, purported to offer owners of timeshares consulting services, including timeshare cancellation services. In  September 2010, Reilly started working at the VO Group and was trained by VO Group managers to call customers using a prepared script and regularly lie to 
customers. Reilly would call customers and falsely state that he was calling in response to a complaint they had made to timeshare developers and lenders. He  gave customers the false impression that he was working for Wyndham Vacation Resorts, a developer of timeshare resorts. Reilly then would falsely represent  that the VO Group could pay off the customers’ timeshares or have their timeshares cancelled. Reilly falsely told some customers that their credit would  not be damaged if they stopped paying for their timeshares. Reilly gave
some  customers “references” who were actually VO Group employees posing as satisfied  customers. After hearing Reilly’s false representations, some customers sent  checks to the VO Group, including one customer who sent the VO Group a $31,385  check. Reilly admitted to causing more than $70,000 in  losses..."

CAMDEN, N.J. – A federal grand jury for the District of New Jersey, sitting in Camden, has returned a 44-count Superseding Indictment against ten individuals involved with The Vacation Ownership Group, a/k/a VO Group LLC- for their alleged roles in a $3 million mail and wire fraud conspiracy involving time share mortgages, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. 

The six indicted defendants from New Jersey are:  Adam Lacerda, 28, and his wife, Ashley R. Lacerda, 32, of Egg Harbor Township; Ian Resnick, 37, of Absecon; Steven Cox, 48, of Ventnor City; Francis Santore, 52, of Northfield; and Joseph Diventi, 32, of Somers Point.

Also indicted are:  Alfred Giordano, 32, of Hurry County, S.C.; Brian Corley, 27, of Little River, S.C.; Joseph Saxon, 38, of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; and Genevieve Manzoni, 46, of Lake Worth, Fla.  The indictment was
returned by a federal grand jury on Jan. 23, 2013.

Ian Resnick, Joseph Saxon, and Genevieve Manzoni previously were charged by criminal complaint.  Adam Lacerda, Ashley R. Lacerda, Steven Cox, Alfred Giordano, Francis Santore, Brian Corley, and Joseph Diventi previously were indicted on the same charges by a federal grand jury sitting in Trenton on May 3, 2012.

The defendants are expected to be arraigned before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden federal court in the coming weeks.

According to the Complaint, during the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers interviewed approximately 225 victims of the conspirators’ scheme identified to date.  Many of the victims are elderly, causing them to be more vulnerable to the scheme.  The Indictment states that law enforcement has
determined that the conspirators defrauded the victims of more than $3 million.

 The mail and wire fraud conspiracy charge – with which all defendants named in the Superseding Indictment are charged – is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  Each
additional, substantive charge of mail fraud or wire fraud carries an additional, maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The conspiracy to commit money laundering charge subjects defendants Adam and Ashley Lacerda to an additional, maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison
and a $500,000 fine.  Defendants Adam and Ashley Lacerda also face an additional, maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison for each substantive money laundering count in which they are charged.


U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents from the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge David Velazquez in Newark; and special agents from the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Panella, New York Region, for the investigation leading to today’s Indictment.  He also thanked the N.J. Department of Labor, Benefit Payment Control Unit, for its
assistance.

The charges and allegations contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until  proven guilty.

Anyone who believes they are a victim of fraud perpetrated by this company or individuals should contact the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency at 609-677-6400.