13 more employees of upfront fee Scammer plead guilty to fraud

[TUGBrian]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-timeshare-mega-media-pleas-20111224,0,3650553.story

A parade of former employees of a now-defunct Fort Lauderdale timeshare resale company has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud clients who wanted to sell their unwanted vacation rentals.

Thirteen telemarketers from Timeshare Mega Media and Marketing Group have gone before federal judges in the last two months, each admitting to regularly lying to customers as they squeezed thousands of dollars out of them. Clients would put down as much as $10,000, believing the company had lined up buyers for their timeshares and the money was an administrative fee that would be refunded later, according to court records.

Federal authorities say the buyers never existed, describing Timeshare Mega Media as a "naked fraud." The company — run by two convicted felons — took in about $5 million in less than a year, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I would love to see Florida arrest the scammers at FSBO Daytona. This company is timesharesbyowner.com. They are scum! They call me often, and when I tell them I don't want their services, they are rude.

I had them call today, and I said, "How can you sleep at night, scamming people for a living?" And I hung up. The second time he called, a minute later, I told him I am turning him into the Florida Attorney General, and I hope he goes to jail.

He called me back three times and made all kinds of noises, so I blew a whistle as loud as I could into the phone. SCAMMERS! I turned them into the Florida Attorney General's office, as I promised I would. I get sick of this stuff. Seriously. Too many calls, all times of the day, and I am just tired of the hassle. Leave me alone!

 

[aliikai2]

This is great to see, but

It is like

" What is a 100 attorneys floating just below the surface of the ocean"?

A good start...,
jmho,

Greg

 

[Ridewithme38]

Its a shame when the employees are the ones going to jail when its the bosses who are writing out the scripts

 

[PamMo]

"...they took in about $5 million in less than a year, according to the Federal Trade Commission."

It makes me sick to think of the people they defrauded.

 

[pedro47]

I would like to see some other states take a more active role in prosecuting scammers and protecting the timeshare consumers.

This problem is not only occurring in the state of Florida.

 

[grand desert]

good start is right. There is a special place in hell for people that deal with timeshares.

 

[Brerrabbit]

What I'd like to see

All these people involved in this, ESPECIALLY the owners, be thrown in jail and told that after their sentences are finished, they will only be released when everyone they ripped off is paid back 100% of what they were ripped off for.

The way I figure it is this: If these people scammed people out of $5 million, they probably have it stashed in a foreign bank account somewhere, or something like that, and they are just figuring that even if they go to jail, they will get released in a few years and then go get the money and live high on the hog with it. And they will wind up having "worked" (i.e. spent time in jail) to the tune of a few hundred thousand to a million a year. There are a lot of people who would probably be willing to take that risk if they thought they could get away with it. And so in order to make sure that doesn't happen, they should be required to pay back every last penny of it before being released from prison.

 

[JeffW]

Usually DA's get the 'workers' to provide information to take down the bosses, in exchange for a lighter sentance. Makes you wonder why they haven't done that in this case.

Jeff

 

[winbett]

make them pay

I agree, only way to truly have justice is make them pay back or stay in jail, a short term in jail and a 10000 fine will not stop it, much to lucrative:annoyed: :annoyed: for those that are greedy!!!!!

 

[GTStone]

Phone Solicitations

I have a pretty simple response, because my number is on the "do not call list".

Me: "I don't do business with criminals"

Them: "I'm not a criminal"

Me: "When you call this number, you break the law, which makes you a criminal."

Click !

I then fill out the complaint form on line with the Do Not Call Registry.

 

[RMitchell]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-timeshare-mega-media-pleas-20111224,0,3650553.story

The whole industry is crooked and you can't arrest everyone so I guess they're going after the most obvious.

 

[JeffW]

Not wanting to get too political, but one of the reasons there isn't more prosecution is because there's too much crime in America. Ideally, if you commit a crime (and this scamming definitely is a crime), you should be prosecuted, with either jail time or heavy fines / repayment.

In reality though, there's only so many jail cells, and to a degree, only so much justice. So law enforcement needs to decide, do I work these cases, or armed robberies, or rapes, or sexual assults, or murders? Look at California. For all the debating on whether Lindsay Lohan should go back to jail, once she was sent, she was released within 24hrs, I think basically because the jail was already full with more serious offenders.

I'm not saying these resellers shouldn't be gone after. Rather, if they aren't, realize why.

Jeff

 

[rickandcindy23]

I ask every one of these scammers how they sleep at night.

If they don't know they are doing something wrong, then they are totally stupid for not realizing it's a scam, but some do act clueless. I think those are good actors.

In other words, they know what scam they are pushing on people, they continue to call, continue to charge credit cards with no results, and they are well aware of what they are doing. Can they honestly cite some successful sales? NO! Can they give you phony information? SURE!

Ride thinks the "employees" are being duped. Would you sell something in clear plastic bags to people waiting in parked cars, without knowing what you are selling (what is in the plastic bags)? If you don't ask, then you deserve to be punished.

I say open more jails, and put these "white collar" inmates to work doing something useful to pay their room and board. What happened to banging out license plates?

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I have a pretty simple response, because my number is on the "do not call list".

Me: "I don't do business with criminals"

Them: "I'm not a criminal"

Me: "When you call this number, you break the law, which makes you a criminal."

Click !

I then fill out the complaint form on line with the Do Not Call Registry.

Breaking the law is not a crime. Breaking a law that is a criminal statute is a crime. There are many laws that are not criminal.

 

[Royal Flush]

Still the fact is that many wonderful resorts are struggling to stay afloat, without a good market for nice properties that are well managed.
I love to stay at Carriage Hills, one of our timeshares. It is really great, and yet no one is aware it is there, only 1 hour from a major city, Toronto. This is really confusing! Lots of families could be vacationing there, and there is a glut on the market.
I hope that in 2012 this timeshare glut will be resolved and people will use this system that cries out for honesty and people to buy their space!