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Nearly 10 years ago, Mark Gardner and Tammie Lynn Cline got together in a Florida boiler room to develop a fraudulent resale operation that targeted disgruntled timeshare owners. Universal Timeshare Sales Associates (UTSA) was launched quickly thereafter and a call center full of Orlando telemarketers were ready to execute the scam. In an attempt to cover their tracks, the duo claimed the headquarters of their timeshare resale company was in Beaverton, Oregon.

In 2015, St Petersburg residents, David Bell (55) and Troy Cater (30) were recruited to target people looking to sell their timeshare. Through 2018, both men played a key role in telemarketing to people who believed they’d been victimized by their timeshare company. Posing as real estate professionals, they claimed they had a pool of buyers looking for a property just like theirs.

Despite support from the ARDA-ROC, who represents over 1.5 million timeshare owners, HB 435 is being challenged by at least 3 cancellation operations and their legal teams. They’ve proceeded to hire a handful of powerful lobbyists to fight the legislature’s house bill with common sense tactics to timesharing.

Falling victim to a scam is never on anyone’s to-do list. On the surface, many fraudulent operations seem legit. This was the case with Boyer and his co-conspirators. Despite there never being any “real” buyers, they went above and beyond to create online business “fronts” in order to manipulate over 1,000 timeshare owners. They also used fake identities and leased office spaces with actual map listings.

What’s important about this decision is that most timeshare purchases are perpetual (lifetime) agreements. Once the cancellation window passes, it’s nearly impossible for owners to get rid of a timeshare. “At some point, these are adults that come to a meeting of the minds and want to sign a contract,” said Republican Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee.

In December of 2018, Westgate Resorts became the latest timeshare company to be exposed for misleading sales tactics. Apparently, their Smoky Mountain Resort and Spa in Gatlinburg, Tennessee was selling “dream mountain vacations” that didn’t exist. Buyers were promised “rest and relaxation” in the heart of the Smoky Mountains; but important details were left out of the presentation.

Even after the timeshare company confirmed the cancellation, the Lusks continued to receive bills in the mail. When they called the resort, they were told the contract was still valid. Despite a confirmation letter from Diamond, they were still being held responsible for payments. “It was a nightmare,” Frank said.