Recent Timeshare Busts in the U.S. by The Abrams Firm

    Selling your timeshare once and for all can be seemingly impossible these days. Many folks across the country are trying to get out of the "Black Hole" (Dave Ramsey) and stop paying hefty fees that are associated with owning these vacation properties. They will do just about anything to get buyers. Predators out there know that these timeshare owners are desperate to make some much needed extra money in these hard economic times, and are determined to get out of rising maintenance fees of "The Timeshare Trap" (CNN). The bad news is that these frantic timeshare owners, in their search for a way to market their properties, are sometimes blinded by shady businesses that may be out to take them for everything they are willing to pay in order to sell.

    Timeshare Fraud has been becoming more and more common across the United States in the past few years. Recently in Orlando, it was the Resort Timeshare Inc. bust. This company was raided for Timeshare Sales Fraud. Police arrested Michael Malgesini and Dominion Crupi after detectives spent hours examining paperwork at the timeshare telemarketing office. Neighboring office workers from various other businesses found it to be a very weird and uncommon scene in the morning when police busted into the illegal telemarketing office that had been taking payments of $500 to $1,000 from unsuspecting victims per phone call, innocent folks who were just trying to sell their timeshares in a legit way.

   Companies like this falsely promise to sell someone's timeshare, then take their money and never contact them again. When the police showed up, the illegal telemarketers started tossing evidence like cell phones and other paperwork out of the office windows as passers-by looked in awe. What had seemed like a legal, safe, legit business office was now being raided by a SWAT team.

     Also this month there was a sentence imposed for an exposed fraud scheme that was out of New Jersey. Galloway resident, Eric Reilly, worked for the illegally operated Vacation Ownership Group LLC was sentenced for three years. To his unsuspecting customers, the 34-year-old posed over the phone as a trusted timeshare developer for many resorts. He made these folks believe that their credit wouldn't be damaged if they stopped paying for their timeshare, and assured them that his company could pay them off and even cancel their timeshare contracts altogether. The excited customer would then send in money that was used for personal gain. Authorities say the money totaled about $3 million stolen from consumers.

    The dedicated Consumer Protection Attorneys at The Abrams Firm only recommend legitimate timeshare owner forums like TUG and TimeshareForums.com for timeshare owners who want to sell a timeshare (BUT, THIS ONLY WORKS IF YOUR TIMESHARE HAS MARKETABLE VALUE; check "sold" prices on eBay), otherwise you are better off empowering yourself with the Timeshare Consumer Protection Attorney Alerts at TCPAA.org. If you or anyone you know has been a victim of timeshare fraud, feel free to contact The Abrams Firm consumer attorneys directly at (360) 918-8196, or at their website TheAbramsFirm.com.