MIAMI, FL – Sixty-nine defendants have been charged to date by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their involvement in a timeshare resale telemarketing fraud scheme, according to a press conference held in Miami today.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, joined forces with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Florida Attorney General’s office, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to highlight their efforts in combating timeshare property resale fraud in Florida and around the country.
"We cannot allow our elderly and vulnerable real property owners to continue to be the target of fraud schemes," said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer. "For that reason, our respective offices – federal and state, criminal and civil – have joined forces to combat Florida-based fraud schemes victimizing timeshare unit owners across the country."
The FTC reports that 191 actions were brought by the FTC and its law enforcement partners around the nation, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida claiming 18 criminal cases, charging a total of 69 defendants, between 2011 and 2013. The victims, many of them elderly or in financial distress, were defrauded out of more than $14 million in total.
According to Charles A. Harwood, Acting Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, "Timeshare resale scammers have cheated tens of thousands of timeshare owners out of tens of millions of dollars by convincing them to pay for a false promise."
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi stated, "We will continue to pursue scam artists who attempt to essentially steal from timeshare owners, and the Timeshare Resale Accountability Act that I worked with the Legislature on in 2012 is already having a great effect on ending this type of fraud."
Victims of timeshare scams are advised to file a complaint with their state attorney general’s office and the Internet Crime Complaint Center. To avoid becoming a victim of this type of crime, individuals are urged to do their research, verify the reseller’s agents are properly licensed, and ask about fees and timing.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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