Two Plead Guilty to Resort Timeshare Telemarketing Scam

JESUS ADRIAN LEDESMA BERNAL, a/k/a JSS, age 31, and JULIO CESAR RIVERA ROJAS, a/k/a JCP, age 32, both residents and citizens of Mexico, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud before U. As detailed in the factual basis and superseding bill of information, the defendants, from at least January 1, 2016, to the present, conspired together and with others to commit wire fraud in connection with a telemarketing scheme that targeted and victimized persons in the United States, Canada and South America. As part of the elaborate scheme, the conspirators made unsolicited phone calls to owners of resort timeshare properties to induce them into paying fees associated with the bogus sale of their property. The defendants misrepresented the existence of a buyer for their timeshare and solicited money from the victims to facilitate the sale. They solicited the timeshare owners to enter into agreements to sell their timeshares and pay for alleged «closing costs» with electronic wire transfers from banking institutions within the United States to Mexican banks.

ROJAS, who was an accountant with the criminal organization, admitted that he was aware of victim losses of at least $4 million USD, while BERNAL, as telemarketer, admitted to being responsible for victim losses of $127,000 USD. Sentencing will be on July 15, 2020 for BERNAL and on September 16, 2020 for ROJAS, at which time both defendants face a maximum sentence of five , a fine of up to $250,000.

Read full article here – https://www.justice.gov/usao-edla/pr/two-mexican-nationals-plead-guilty-timeshare-telemarketing-scam