Red River Portfolio Management and Equity Group and Old Bay Title and Escrow Services
June 1, 2013
A fellow member contacted us today with a tragic story to tell. It shows how vulnerable we all are to offers that appear bonafide and really are not.Before proceeding any further, it is important to listen again to the recorded conversation between a person who stole the identiy of a legitmately licensed California Real Estate Agent to convice his targets that the offer he extends is real and passes due diligence:
Read the full account of this scam here.
Here is what our member sent to Grupo Vidanta:
Hello:Heart wrenching! The person on the recorded call that is at the top of this page does not feel he is doing anything wrong! All he is getting is a commission from the money he collects from victims, who believe and trust him and who want badly to sell their weeks for any number of reasons.
It appears that I have become involved in one of these fraudulent activities. In February 2013 I was contacted by Joe Gonzalez from the Red River Portfolio Management and Equity Group of Oklahoma City, OK, 3030 Northwest Expressway #200, Phone: 1-405 551 8415, Fax 1 405 708 4791. I asked Mr. Gonzalez how he got my name and he reported that he had taken in or given credit for Hilton Head property we had when we bought into the Grand Luxxe.
I remembered this was done and did not question him further. He asked if I wanted to sell any of my Grand Luxxe units and I said I had a contract of 4 master suites that I would like to sell. Soon he came back with the information he had a buyer for the 4 units and I would be paid $79,950 US dollars for them. Therefore, I signed a contract with him for this sale. I would pay a 2% commission after I receive the payment from the buyer.
On February 27 I signed a contract with Old Bay Title and Escrow Services, 320 Saint Paul Place Suite 22, Baltimore, MD. 21201; telephone 410-929-7743. Zack Eberson is the authorized agent I talked to. I asked why an escrow company was used in Baltimore, when I was contacted by someone in Oklahoma and was told the buyer is the one who chooses the escrow company.
Now the bad part! On March 4 Zack Eberson said a 30% deposit had been made by the buyer. But now I needed to pay an IVA tax of $12,792 that would be reimbursed when I received the payout from buyer. This I made by wire from my bank to BBVA BAncomer SA in Mexico. A second request was made for a luxury Tax of $4797 which again I had wired from my bank to the one in Mexico. A third request was made for a capital gains tax of $5447.
By now my daughter and son-in-law became aware of all this their 82 year old mother was doing. They started checking out both the two agencies and warned me this is probably a scam. This third request for the $5447 was never sent. I continued to be assured that all 3 of these payments would be added to the sales price I would be receiving. I went back to my bank and they filed a possible fraud report but did not think I would be covered by this. My next contacts with the two agents was to tell them I had decided to keep my property and I would like the two payments I made returned to me. They assured me I would get my payments back but it would take 25-35 business days - May 28th to June 12th. Will I???????
My hope is I will get the return of these funds as I am an optomist. But reality tells me I probably won't. This whole transactiion of selling for the price given seemed too good to be true but it would be such a good way to lessen my week holdings with the Grand Luxxe. Since I still have another 10 year contract of two weeks, that is more than enough for me at my age. So I would like very much to sell my 4 week contract and this had seemed like the perfect answer for me. But alas, I am afraid I was missled and have probably lost a chunk of my retirement money. Signed - Anonymous
There is no question that the Timeshare Industry is a solid, legitmate business. Afterall, Fractional Ownerships, Residence Clubs, Vacation Clubs, Destination Clubs, and all the other forms of selling the use of beautiful resorts are important ways to develop properties. However, the unintended collateral damage from the way the industry has done business in the past are stories of well meaning, trusting individuals being taken advantage of.
The takeaway:
- Do not send money to anyone before they send money to you.
- Do not fax anything.
- Send everything by courier or return receipt requested and track your parcel.
- Insist on using your own eescrow service.