A Williamsburg attorney was arrested Friday on a federal indictment in connection with a timeshare scheme that resulted in $1.3 million in losses, officials said.
Deborah M. Wagner, 43, of Williamsburg, is charged with participating in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as numerous counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft related to the transfer of thousands of timeshare units into the names of stolen identities and straw owners, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
Wagner is accused of participating in the scheme with other individuals who either owned or were employed by travel and timeshare businesses.
Fraudulent transfers were conducted for more than 1,000 timeshares into the names of stolen identities, according to court documents. The defendants collected fees for the transfers from the original owners, but none of the stolen identities / straw buyers paid the required maintenance fees or taxes on the timeshares. This resulted in more than $1.3 million in losses to select resorts for the unpaid fees, the release states.
Wagner is accused of participating in the scheme from 2011 to 2013 by transferring timeshares into the names of stolen identities and straw owners. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to the affected resorts, according to the release.
She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted on each of the mail and wire fraud counts and a mandatory minimum term of 24 months in prison on the aggravated identity theft charges, the release states.
There were also various fraudulent acts in support of the scheme, including false statements and promises to resorts, propping up stolen identities with email accounts, bank accounts and tax returns, falsely notarizing signatures and preparing fraudulent deed paperwork, the release states. The transfers also had a devastating impact on the credit of the stolen identities/straw buyers, according to the release.
Other individuals previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced in connection with the scheme.
Keith Kosco owned and operated a number of entities involved in travel, tourism and timeshare businesses. The entities included Resort Realty Inc., Resort Solutions Inc., and Exotic Equity Transfers LLC.
Brendan Hawkins owned and operated another timeshare transfer business known as GoodBye Timeshares.
Julie Duffield pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 26 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution, jointly with Keith Kosco, in excess of $740,000. Kosco pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 74 months in prison. In a related case, Brendan Hawkins pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $500,000 in restitution.
