Thursday Orlando authorities shut down a telemarketing company that was allegedly posing as a timeshare sales brokering service. Victims of the timeshare scam say they paid the company to sell their timeshare and received nothing in return.
So far, four people have been arrested and there could be more as they expect that all employees will most likely be charged.
It is estimate that the number of victims in this crime could be thousands and reach from across the U.S. and Canada.
Authorities involved were the Orlando police, code enforcement officers as well as the Division of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
According to police spokeswoman Sgt. Barbara Jones, the business, which operated under such names as: Resort Services Group, Resort Time Share INC and Resort Sales Group, would offer to help with timeshare resales, and once the money was taken, provide no sales assistance in return.
It is unclear how long the suspected scammers had been operating at their Downtown Orlando location. Police were alerted to the illegal activity by a Crimeline tip and had been investigating the company since December 2010.
The suspects arrested were Kurt Neyworth, 32, Andrew Nance, 28, and Eric Isaksen and Catherine Keller, both 34. Police said the four face charges of employing unlicensed sales people, telephone or communications soliciting without a license and a third, licensing-related charge. All three charges are third-degree felonies.
Police state that their investigation is ongoing, but, during yesterdays bust on Magnolia Avenue, authorities seized cars, cash, computer equipment and documents (some of which were hidden in the attic). The company bank account was also secured and a UPS drop box was seized.