Manhattan Club Lawsuit

laurah

here's a letter i emailed to senator chuck schumer of new york. anxiously awaiting his response.

the subject involves consumer fraud in the timeshare industry,

i have owned shares in TMC for 7 years. the sales presentation was riddled with lies and fraudulent statements, e.g., maintenance fees would increase very slightly from year-to-year: from $600 at purchase to the current $3,500 (on average). owners have major difficulties getting desired reservations due to overselling of shares and management selling reservations on travel websites, e.g., hotels.com, booking.com, etc. purchasers were told of the extraordinary investment TMC is. currently, owners can't even give shares away, no less sell them: their market value is $0.00. the former nys attny general, eric schneiderman, after thousands of complaints from TMC shareowners, established litigation: nys ag vs TMC/ian bruce eichner (principal). he proved (and TMC admitted, probably as a plea bargain) TMC's sales fraud and lies by having his undercover agents sit and record at sales presentations all of the misleading and fraudulent pep talks by TMC's sales staff. FRAUD WAS PROVEN AND ADMITTED TO BY EICHNER. u s mail fraud, i assume, was also committed by eichner since he sent out brochures luring potential purchasers to sales presentations. schneider "won" the case which in itself was a very big joke. the penalty was (after fraudulently cheating over 14,000 TMC purchasers) a fine of $6.5 million and prohibition of eichner continuing in the timeshare business, a major blow to all shareowners.

i present the above comments to you as an issue involving over 14,000 purchasers at TMC. all have been financially damaged by the results of the purchase from and association with TMC. i ask that you step in as a state senator to offer assistance to us owners. mr schneiderman won his TMC case as such, but left us owners at the mercy, or lack thereof, of TMC. we're still facing the dilemmas that we presented to eric schneiderman after his so-called victory.

additionally, and on a broader level, there appears to be no state nor nationally enforced timeshare regulations. complaints of fraud and related illegal activity are a daily occurrence regarding hundreds of other timeshare companies. state and national legislation and regulations are essential regarding the timeshare industry to protect consumers' rights in new york and among all other states, since proven fraud is rampant in many timeshare companies. i am asking that you present my request to establish appropriate timeshare legislation to your colleagues and fellow senators.

please respond positively to this request as we owners are depending on legislative relief concerning the purchase and ownership of timeshares in the fraudulent atmosphere many timeshare companies create for their financial benefit.

SCHUMER'S EMAIL FORMAT STARTED WITH A SUBJECT LINE WHICH ISN'T COPIED HERE, AS I WROTE IT, THE SUBJECT LINE READS: THE NECESSITY FOR TIMESHARE FRAUD LEGISLATION, E.G., THE MANHATTAN CLUB (TMC) 200 W 56 ST, NYC, NY (FRAUD)

laurah136 wrote:

What is needed is legislation. All timeshares should have an exit program. What one does when younger becomes no longer feasible or wanted in later years because of age and because of all the costs that are added, whether it be by the timeshare companies or the exchange companies. We now have added to the brew companies that will get you out of your timeshare for a fee. The whole industry is fraught with scams. There are no regulations and the organization that gets your money purportedly to help you, helps the developer. Nip it in the bud.

I am still very unclear about one thing. Is TMC (or Bluegreen) willing to take back weeks (either for $0.00 or $100.00) EVEN THOUGH MAINTENANCE FEES ARE NOT CURRENT?

I agree. I'd like to hear his answer. I seriously doubt it's that simple.

@WIlliam M. - In the offer email here's the relevant sentence that I THINK addresses your question:

"Bluegreen, once it has acquired your interval, would begin making scheduled payments of the Charges to the TSA."

I read that as, once the deed is recorded to Bluegreen they will make payments to the association to make up for any unpaid fees associated with the deeded unit. The current owner will walk away with $100 and no debt.

The implication is Bluegreen sees enough value in the unit - regardless of how far behind the current owner is. They appear to be willing to pay those unpaid maintenance fees. To me that only means one thing: Bluegreen still sees enough value in the unit to support paying off Eichner and still being able to sell the inventory in the future - or convert the entire building to condo. This is the point that gets under my skin. The value is still there in the asset, but not until the ownership has been transferred. So we wait, or we sue and pick up where the NYAG left off and didn't finish his work.

my 2 cents.

thanks for the response Appreciate it

New York will have a new Attorney General as of January and hopefully she will be willing to take on the TimeShare scam.

br

And BlueGreen could rent the timeshare if it wasn't able to resell it. I doubt very seriously though that the building could ever be converted to a condo. building. They would face a tremendous hurdle convincing all the timeshare owners to give up their ownership which they own in fee simple. It would be extremely costly.

The email I received indicated if I relinquish ownership: "When we receive the documents back from you (a) we will send you a settlement check for the amount of $100.00 and (b) you will then be relieved of all existing and future financial obligations owed by you to the TSA and former Sponsor under your mortgage, if applicable, preventing a foreclosure lawsuit being filed against you."

I think all existing obligations would include any outstanding maintenance fee payments.

This does, of course, not address the difference between the value of our timeshares and the $100 we are being offered to walk away from this mess.

And they have put pressure on by indicating, "We are grateful we have found options to avoid a foreclosure lawsuit being filed against you with all of the related negative consequences to your credit standing. Please respond to this email within seven (7) days to resolve this matter by selecting Option 1 or 2."

Does anyone know if timeshare foreclosures affect one's credit rating?

Thanks,

Karen

"Begin making scheduled payments," might, or might not, include past delinquent payments. Just another situation that might end up in court.

So, who is taking Option One?

I believe there were many in the past who said they just want out... and this is a way to do it.

And... if you took Option One, please give us an update on how that is going. I think that would be very helpful.

Thousands of us have been cheated and scammed for years by an unscrupulous band of crooks lead by Ian Bruce Eichner, and he and his cronies got to walk away SCOTT FREE by paying a token restitution. And the restitution only will be paid to owners who, despite being defrauded for years by TMC operation, continued to pay maintenance fees to the criminal enterprise through 2014. If you got wise to the scam and stopped paying prior to that, well tough luck, you’re not entitled to any restitution. I purchased 2 timeshares in TMC in 2005 for $60,000, stopped paying three years ago, and I’m now being threatened with a foreclosure lawsuit unless I submit to an extortionist demand to surrender my units for $100 each! Despite paying my fees for 10 years, I have been routinely cheated out of the use of my timeshare while the Eichner family and a small circle of TMC insiders have enriched themselves at my expense. Based on evidence gathered by the AG, we have learned that, for years, Eichner has been personally skimming over 6 million dollars a year from TMC through a shell management company called Urban. This company had no employees and provided no services to the operation of the timeshare property, yet our timeshare corporation was paying them $6 million a year! Anyone who hasn’t done so already should read the 2 most important documents in this case; the NY Attorney General's July, 2015 court filing, which itemizes a remarkable list of allegations of civil and criminal conduct on the part of The Manhattan Club, and the Assurance of Discontinuance, in which the principals involved in TMC timeshare scam admit to their criminal conduct which was uncovered during the NY Attorney General’s nearly 4 year-long investigation! Here are the links to these court documents, copy and paste the links into your browser address bar:

2015 AG court filing containing list of allegations misconduct uncovered during the investigation:

file:///C:/Users/Bob/Google%20Drive/Manhattan%20Club%20Shared%20Docs/NY%20AG%20MEMORANDUM%20OF%20LAW%20IN%20OPPOSITION%20TO%20RESPONDENTS’%20MOTIONS%207-2-2015.pdf

2018 Assurance of Discontinuance containing admissions of criminal conduct: file:///C:/Users/Bob/Google%20Drive/Manhattan%20Club%20Shared%20Docs/Order%20of%20Discontinuance-manhattan-club-aod_0.pdf

After you read these, ask yourself, “Should I be willing to settle with these crooks for a lousy $100, or should I enlist the help of an accomplished attorney and sue the bastards?” The answer was easy for me! I was one of the first TMC victims to sign on with Jean-Marc Zimmerman, and it cost less than half the amount I paid TMC EACH YEAR for nearly 10 years. If you want the crooks to be held accountable and would like to win a small measure of justice, I urge you to contact the Zimmerman Law Group at jmz@tmcsuit.com, or (908) 768-6408, and ask them to represent you, too. Bob Biello

Well said, Bob - I was appalled like many over the slap on the wrist Eichner and his crooks received - they paid a pittance in restitution and no criminal charges?? We were done a huge disservice by the previous attorney general and I'm not sure we'd be able to reopen the case with this new attorney general. The only reason I can fathom for this pathetic settlement is that I discovered Eichner at one time was either an assistant attorney general or worked in a similar type of legal position many years ago. I'm thinking he forged connections back then. There is no other explanation when one looks at all the evidence this past A. G. had on Eichner.

I'm part of the Zimmerman suit as well. I suggest others join too.

I am the attorney posted about giving back our 2 floating weeks for which we paid about $40k, and remain in good standing on our maintenance. We no longer need our weeks and will be giving them back for the $100 (or $200)....or nothing. That’s personal to our situation. But the gift law I stated is VERY clear cut. In order to have a valid gift in NY, there are 3 requirements that must be fulfilled:

1. Intent of the donor to make a gift of whatever is given

2. Evidence of the delivery of the property that is given. With real estate, the evidence is typically a deed. If it was a gift of money, the evidence would be a check or delivery of the cash. If it were a gift of artwork, the Picasso (or whatever) must have been physically delivered to the donee.

3. Acceptance of the gift by the donee. Under NY (& most states’) common law, acceptance of gifts is presumed, unless the gift is proven to have been rejected. This is a common sense rule of law: most people accept gifts; they do not reject them.

So, as I said in my previous post, if you want “out” (you can accept the $100 route of course), all you need do is execute a proper-in-form NY deed of your interest to TMC and send it to them, taking care to record it first with the N.Y. County Clerk’s office. If TMC doesn’t return the deed or take some other action evidencing their rejection of your gift, then the common law presumption of acceptance will have been satisfied.....and you are then an EX-TMC owner....

hi bob, i tried copying/pasting the sites you noted. got only "site cannot be reached." any alternatives? thanks.

robertb1802 wrote:

Thousands of us have been cheated and scammed for years by an unscrupulous band of crooks lead by Ian Bruce Eichner, and he and his cronies got to walk away SCOTT FREE by paying a token restitution. And the restitution only will be paid to owners who, despite being defrauded for years by TMC operation, continued to pay maintenance fees to the criminal enterprise through 2014. If you got wise to the scam and stopped paying prior to that, well tough luck, you’re not entitled to any restitution. I purchased 2 timeshares in TMC in 2005 for $60,000, stopped paying three years ago, and I’m now being threatened with a foreclosure lawsuit unless I submit to an extortionist demand to surrender my units for $100 each! Despite paying my fees for 10 years, I have been routinely cheated out of the use of my timeshare while the Eichner family and a small circle of TMC insiders have enriched themselves at my expense. Based on evidence gathered by the AG, we have learned that, for years, Eichner has been personally skimming over 6 million dollars a year from TMC through a shell management company called Urban. This company had no employees and provided no services to the operation of the timeshare property, yet our timeshare corporation was paying them $6 million a year!

Anyone who hasn’t done so already should read the 2 most important documents in this case; the NY Attorney General's July, 2015 court filing, which itemizes a remarkable list of allegations of civil and criminal conduct on the part of The Manhattan Club, and the Assurance of Discontinuance, in which the principals involved in TMC timeshare scam admit to their criminal conduct which was uncovered during the NY Attorney General’s nearly 4 year-long investigation! Here are the links to these court documents, copy and paste the links into your browser address bar:

2015 AG court filing containing list of allegations misconduct uncovered during the investigation:

file:///C:/Users/Bob/Google%20Drive/Manhattan%20Club%20Shared%20Docs/NY%20AG%20MEMORANDUM%20OF%20LAW%20IN%20OPPOSITION%20TO%20RESPONDENTS’%20MOTIONS%207-2-2015.pdf

2018 Assurance of Discontinuance containing admissions of criminal conduct: file:///C:/Users/Bob/Google%20Drive/Manhattan%20Club%20Shared%20Docs/Order%20of%20Discontinuance-manhattan-club-aod_0.pdf

After you read these, ask yourself, “Should I be willing to settle with these crooks for a lousy $100, or should I enlist the help of an accomplished attorney and sue the bastards?” The answer was easy for me! I was one of the first TMC victims to sign on with Jean-Marc Zimmerman, and it cost less than half the amount I paid TMC EACH YEAR for nearly 10 years. If you want the crooks to be held accountable and would like to win a small measure of justice, I urge you to contact the Zimmerman Law Group at jmz@tmcsuit.com, or (908) 768-6408, and ask them to represent you, too. Bob Biello

Foreclosure? lol....I think Bluegreen know's they would have a hard time foreclosing on a unit that for years was PREVENTED from being sold due to NYAG case and subsequent action against TMC and current lawsuits. They are COUNTING on those members who have wanted to just get out of this for years and stopped paying maintenance - which basically holds up the unit from being profitable for them. They give you 100.00 and they sell for thousands to one of their Bluegreen members who want a lovely NYC location! They will have no problem using their upgrade/points strategy to wiesel money out of their current base for NYC. I would not ever judge anyone for simply wanting out. But whether you go for this or not , please JOIN the Zimmerman lawsuit (it is not a class action). The clear lack of ethical guidelines for this timeshare industry - specifically for us with TMC should not be tolerated. We must take a stand against this. And when he wins the member listing - it's going to be BIG! I can't wait.

bettyl171, if the new nysag is anything like her predecessor, schneiderman, "fuggetaboutit". i realize that the nysag does not work as a class action attorney for owners, but her end results should benefit us owners. schneiderman's "victory" was a total farce and disgrace. we owners are still behind the same eight-ball we were before schneiderman's feeble litigation attempts and outcomes. i hope the new nysag learns a clear lesson from this miscarriage of justice..........that is if she resumes any action at all.

bettyl171 wrote:

New York will have a new Attorney General as of January and hopefully she will be willing to take on the TimeShare scam.

br

NEW DOCUMENT LINKS The links to two documents in my previous post apparently don’t work, so I’m posting new links to the files which I have uploaded to “Drop Box.” In order to open and read them you will have to have a Drop Box account, which is free to create and simple to use. So, here are the updated links.

Anyone who hasn’t done so already should read the 2 most important documents in this case; the NY Attorney General's July, 2015 court filing, which itemizes a remarkable list of allegations of civil and criminal conduct on the part of The Manhattan Club, and the Assurance of Discontinuance, in which the principals involved in TMC timeshare scam admit to their criminal conduct which was uncovered during the NY Attorney General’s nearly 4 year-long investigation! Here are the links to these court documents. If they don’t open when you click on them, just copy and paste the links into your browser address bar.

**2015 AG court filing containing list of allegations misconduct uncovered during the investigation:**

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p2znfoz0vi5y3ey/NY%20AG%20MEMORANDUM%20OF%20LAW%20IN%20OPPOSITION%20TO%20RESPONDENTS%E2%80%99%20MOTIONS%207-2-2015.pdf?dl=0

**2018 Assurance of Discontinuance containing admissions of criminal conduct:** https://www.dropbox.com/s/58g3cfucsxo7j3j/Order%20of%20Discontinuance-manhattan-club-aod_0.pdf?dl=0

If you want the crooks to be held accountable and would like to win a small measure of justice, I urge you to contact the Zimmerman Law Group at jmz@tmcsuit.com, or (908) 768-6408, and ask them to represent you, too. Bob Biello

Robert,

As I have written in this forum, I, too, have joined the Zimmerman lawsuit; however, I expect this will take a while.

The clear strategy that the defendants are following is to delay, delay and delay.

This is why the Zimmerman approach makes so much sense to me.

My view is that we will prevail, but there will be long periods where nothing is happening, and then a settlement is reached (the defendants will never allow this to go to a jury trial) that is reasonable for the plaintiffs and very good for him since I believe the incentives built in will pay off handsomely..

What is the Zimmerman lawsuit? And how would one join?

Wayne, I suggest you scroll back to at least page 210 of this blog and spend some time reading the posts going forward. You’ll have a good idea of where we are and who Jean-Marc Zimmerman is.

Bob Biello