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Ten Indicted in $14.5 Million Telemarketing Scam
A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Illinois has returned ten one-count indictments for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud against ten individuals, including Suzanne W. Schmier, 42, of Glen Rock, NJ, and David Brian Tibbs, 50, of Wytheville, VA.
The defendants were employees of C&G Marketing Associates, LLC, a Florida corporation that, in 2009, defrauded consumers across the continent using the fictitious name, Premier Timeshare Solutions (“PTS”).
PTS telemarketers worked in an office building in West Palm Beach, Florida, placing phone calls to timeshare owners, falsely representing or implying that the company had found someone who wanted to buy the person’s timeshare. In exchange for an advance fee that typically exceeded $1,000, the PTS telemarketers promised to handle all the details of the sale and send the victims the proceeds after closing.
Once the victims had paid the advance fee, however, the fraudulent company simply pocketed the money. There were no interested buyers, the closings did not occur, and the timeshares were not resold.
The victims who called PTS to check on the status of their transactions were directed to customer service representatives, managed by Jose Goyos, whose goal was to perpetuate the fraud by delaying and discouraging chargebacks and complaints.
As a result of the investigation, Goyos was indicted in September 2013 and sentenced to 96 months of imprisonment on May 2, 2014.
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, warned the public, “I urge all consumers to follow this tried and true advice: if you get a call from someone you do not know and trust, promising something that sounds too good to be true, it is a scam. Hang up. Then, please report the call to the proper authorities.”
The prosecution is one of nearly 50 timeshare resale fraud prosecutions brought in the Southern District of Illinois over the past four years.
The case is part of an ongoing investigation by the St. Louis Field Office of the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Florida Attorney General’s Office, and the Florida Department of Agriculture.
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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