A 13th person is heading to federal prison from Palm Beach County timeshare marketing firms Universal Marketing Solutions and Creative Vacation Solutions, prosecutors said Thursday.
John Thomas Egan, 36, of Palm Beach Gardens was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois said.
His attorney Frederick Hess declined comment.
The companies milked 22,000 victims across the U.S. and Canada out of $30 million, prosecutors said. They were prominent players in a scheme that became Florida’s No. 1 fraud complaint more than two years ago, with Palm Beach County emerging as a major hotspot for telemarketing boiler rooms. Dozens of spinoff and copycat operations were spread over south and central Florida.
Prosectors said Egan conspired with the companies’ owner Jennifer Kirk, who was earlier sentenced to 15 years.
Consumers across the country told the same story, The Palm Beach Post reported in a series of articles: Telemarketers told timeshare property owners they had a buyer but needed money for title or closing fees, often $1,200 or more.
Despite collecting $30 million in fees, the companies never sold a single timeshare unit, prosecutors found.
Many timeshare owners were falsely told their closings were scheduled in 60 to 90 days and that the fees would be refunded, officials said.
The investigation was conducted by the federal postal inspectors assisted by the Boynton Beach Police Department and the Florida Attorney General’s office.
Source: Palm Beach Post, to comment on or read the original article click here
ITRA Timeshare News
John Thomas Egan, 36, of Palm Beach Gardens was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois said.
His attorney Frederick Hess declined comment.
The companies milked 22,000 victims across the U.S. and Canada out of $30 million, prosecutors said. They were prominent players in a scheme that became Florida’s No. 1 fraud complaint more than two years ago, with Palm Beach County emerging as a major hotspot for telemarketing boiler rooms. Dozens of spinoff and copycat operations were spread over south and central Florida.
Prosectors said Egan conspired with the companies’ owner Jennifer Kirk, who was earlier sentenced to 15 years.
Consumers across the country told the same story, The Palm Beach Post reported in a series of articles: Telemarketers told timeshare property owners they had a buyer but needed money for title or closing fees, often $1,200 or more.
Despite collecting $30 million in fees, the companies never sold a single timeshare unit, prosecutors found.
Many timeshare owners were falsely told their closings were scheduled in 60 to 90 days and that the fees would be refunded, officials said.
The investigation was conducted by the federal postal inspectors assisted by the Boynton Beach Police Department and the Florida Attorney General’s office.
Source: Palm Beach Post, to comment on or read the original article click here
How ITRA can help
Our objective is to support the consumer in timeshare disputes. We have discovered a pattern of abuse, deception and even fraudulent issues that have been systematically perpetrated by many of the major timeshare industry players to the detriment of owners.How to contact ITRA
To find out more about the International Timeshare Refund Action visit our website www.itra.net
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