Between January 2012 through December 2016, Jess Kinmont and John P. Wenz, Jr. operated Pro Timeshare Resales, a timeshare resale business. The defendants hired callers and developed scripts to target and defraud timeshare owners.
Pro Timeshare Resales called timeshare owners and falsely claimed that Pro Timeshare Resales had a buyer or renter ready and willing to buy or rent their properties for a specific price. They also falsely promised the timeshares would sell quickly, sometimes stating a specific timeframe for the sale. These representations and promises were false. In reality, they never sold a single timeshare interest during the five years of the scheme’s operation.
Kinmont and Wenz charged timeshare property owners up to $2,500 in advance while lying and failing to deliver on their promises. Even after the timeshare owners paid the advance fee, Kinmont and Wenz strung some timeshare owners along with additional false claims. For instance, they promised owners they would soon receive the proceeds from a sale or rental, and often convincing timeshare owners to pay additional purported closing costs or other fees as a part of these fake transactions.
Consumers’ requests for refunds were typically denied or ignored. In the end, Kinmont and Wenz defrauded at least 8,000 victims of more than $18 million. The district court judge noted at sentencing that the defendants’ fraud scheme was “breathtaking” in scope.
Read the full case details here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/owners-timeshare-resale-company-sentenced-federal-prison-defrauding-over-8000-victims