Fake Buyers, Fake Escrow, Real Advance Fees: Orlando Timeshare Resale Bosses Who Ran Unsolicited Callers Get Nine Years Each

The trial

On June 14, 2016, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, part of the Department of Justice (DOJ), announced that a federal jury had convicted Eugene Warren Brewington, 34, and Chima Edozie Aligwekwe, 33, both of Orlando, of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Brewington was also convicted of four counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of mail fraud. Aligwekwe was convicted of one count of mail fraud. The two had been indicted on December 2, 2015.

How the scheme worked

According to trial testimony and evidence, as described by DOJ:

• Brewington founded and ran two Orlando companies, Timeshare Title Services LLC and United Clearing Solutions LLC.
• Company representatives, called "callers," made unsolicited phone calls to timeshare owners across the country and falsely said a buyer existed for their timeshare.
• Owners were told buyers had deposited money into an escrow account and were sent documents that looked like real sales contracts.
• Owners were then told to send advance fees to close the sales. Many paid, got nothing and never sold their timeshares.
• Brewington managed the bank accounts and rented the offices where the callers worked.
• Aligwekwe managed a team of callers for Timeshare Title Services and supplied the customer lead information.
• In about three months, more than $500,000 in owner payments went into the companies' accounts.

The sentences

• Brewington was sentenced to nine years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza, announced August 29, 2016. DOJ called him a leader of the scheme. The court entered a $704,326.55 money judgment.
• Aligwekwe was sentenced to nine years by the same judge, announced September 19, 2016. DOJ called him a manager. The court entered the same $704,326.55 money judgment.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Orange County Sheriff's Office investigated, with help from the U.S. Secret Service (USSS).

What to take from it

1. Unsolicited phone calls were how the scheme found its victims.
2. Fake escrow deposits and contracts made the pitch look real.
3. The person supplying leads and running the callers got the same sentence as the founder.
4. Going to trial and losing came with nine-year sentences for both.

That's it.