The online edition of the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reported on the four Wisconsin residents recently charged with fraud by scamming over a thousand consumers out of $2.3 million (yes that is Million) in fees to sell their timeshares!
The feds say the alleged scammers did nothing to sell the timeshares and when requested to refund the consumers money, they wouldn’t provide the promised refunds to customers.
The online Journal Sentinel reported that they learned from court records that the total number of victims is actually more than 1,300 nationwide. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has compiled 28 banker boxes of documents in the case so far.
The four people charged in the alleged scam are: Mark S. Parks, 39, of New London; his wife, Mindy L. Parks, 34, who resided in Denmark, Wis.; Ashley M. Conant, 28, of Bellevue; and her mother, Eileen M. Goltz, 51, who moved to Port Charlotte, Fla., a year ago.
The four people charged were involved in four Green Bay-based businesses operating under the names: Advertising Solutions, National Timeshare Resales, Administrative Timeshare Resales and Midwest Timeshares. The companies allegedly charged customers from $200 to $2,500 to sell their timeshares. The alleged scams took place between April 2007 and April 2011.
In a letter obtained by the Journal Sentinel, U.S. Attorney James Santelle told a judge in the case that half of the 28 boxes of documents have been scanned into electronic format so far, but that it’ll take at least another four weeks to finish the job.
The letter states that ff the case goes to trial, it could take several weeks for the government to present its case and numerous out-of-state witnesses would be involved.
The defendants are facing up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 each if convicted.
If you think you are a victim of a timeshare scam, you are encouraged to file a complaint with the state of Wisconsin Better Business Bureau at http://wisconsin.bbb.org/.
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Advantage Vacation is a licensed timeshare resale brokerage located at the Lahaina Cannery Mall in Lahaina, Maui. We are leaders in the secondary market of timeshare resales and are members of the Resort Development Association (ARDA) and Accredited Members of the BBB with an A+ Rating.
We have expanded our services to include general real estate. The real estate professionals at Advantage Vacation look forward to providing full service for all your real estate and timeshare resale needs.
Our licensed real estate professionals have over 35 years of experience and expert knowledge of resort, hotel, vacation clubs and points-based timeshare resales.
We never charge an upfront fee for clients who want to sell a timeshare and only receive a commission, paid from escrow, when the transaction is closed.
If you want to buy a timeshare resale, you can be assured you are working with professionals who believe that honesty and integrity are the most important aspects of the business they are in – timeshare resales.
Whether you want to buy a timeshare or sell a timeshare, buy or sell something in the general real estate market, they will be with you every step of the way – before, during and after the transaction is completed. Our business has been built on relationships and we pride ourselves on providing excellent service to our clients.
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