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I Worked at a Timeshare Scam
After seeing all these posts regarding timeshare resale scams, I realized I need to come clean in a very public way about my brief involvement in the industry. If I had the means to contact each and every one of persons whose money I helped steal, I would do whatever I could to personally pay them back. If you ever dealt with Land Ahoy Properties - specifically, with John Monroe, please contact me.
During a month in the summer of 2007, I worked for a company called Land Ahoy Properties. Desperate for gainful summer employment, I reached out to some contacts I had from a previous job and was quickly hired to work the phones for Land Ahoy Properties. The company was ran by a man called Don Crupi (whether or not this is his real name I do not know, but he has used the name when attending school board meetings in his home area - see https://www.ocps.net/sb/SB_Agenda_Archive/2003_02_11.pdf). To this date, I have never met a more hypocritical, lying snake. You couldn't go five minutes without hearing Don Crupi go on and on about Jesus this, Jesus that - all the while making a living profiting from people who were often in very dire circumstances. When I first started, I fully believed that, yes, we did in fact have showrooms, that we did in fact do showcases, and that yes, we did have a phenomenal sell-rate, and moreover, my boss was a solid Christian - how could I not throw myself headfirst into this? Hey, we were in the business of helping people out! I still can't believe how stupid I was. Within two weeks or so it started to sink in: I was working for a scam. Then I started making a few deals...I was able to actually pay may car for the month...I could afford to pay my cell phone bill on time....but I could never shake the fact that what I was doing was reprehensible. However, this never seemed to bother my oh-so-devout boss; he apparently saw nothing wrong with professing to be a righteous, moral man of faith, and having his minions lie to people on the phone, day in, day out. After a few more weeks, I couldn't take it any more, and decided that no amount of money was worth the stain on my soul. Looking back, I feel absolutely horrible about doing what I did; I remember the peoples' names and voices and still cannot shake the guilt I feel. As a man who considers himself to be, in the humblest terms, someone who desires to live a life of righteousness, honesty and integrity through Christ, I am ashamed that I had anything to do with this industry. It preyed upon those who were the most desperate to rid themselves of the financial burden of owning a timeshare, and I am disgusted that I was ever a part of it.
To Don Crupi: You are a hypocritical snake. Personally pay back every person you ripped off every last penny and you might avoid an eternity in hell.
Oh, and if this posting results in any sort of negative response or action from you, Mr. Crupi, I am more than willing to stand by my words in any fashion. You see, I've got something you've never had and never will have: character.
And one last link: a Fictitious Name Filing for a "Triple A Timeshares" owned by the now-defunct Land Ahoy Properties. Note the mailing address.
http://fic.sunbiz.org/scripts/ficidet.exe?action=DETRPL&name=&docnum=G07022900079&rdocnum=G00007900133
John M.
jonathanc10:
Thank you for having both the guts and the integrity to step forward and speak out about one of these (far-too-many) upfront fee parasites --- and name names as well.
Why people voluntarily throw their hard earned money away to such thieves is a mystery which I will never understand. How the parasites taking that money from honest, trusting people can ever manage to sleep at night further mystifies me. Someday, the parasites will all answer to a higher authority...
KC
Last edited by ken1193 on Jul 14, 2008 05:02 AM
ken1193 wrote:How the parasites taking that money from honest, trusting people can ever manage to sleep at night further mystifies me. Someday, the parasites will all answer to a higher authority...
By telling lie after lie Ken (ie: we can easily get mega bucks for your timeshare, people are waiting in line for your exact week, corporations are buying weeks like yours etc etc etc).
I, too, honestly don't see how the upfront fee parasites can sleep at night .... evidently they have zero consciousness, but what goes around comes around in this life or in the hereafter (laws of the universe ... karma).
Thanks jonathan for your testimonial on just what a hypocrite your ex employer is .... folks like him just can't seem to make a living legitimately, but they feel the constant need to justify their scams to make themselves feel better.
I honestly don't see how upfront fee scam companies keep employees .... the constant lying to innocent people would absolutely destroy me.
R P.
Last edited by jayjay on Jul 14, 2008 06:33 AM
Well I figured it was a scam. My goofy husband took the call and gave them 800.00 dollars! Yikes! To sell our Westgate Palace timeshare(which we have never used). Yeah I am still wondering if someone is going to sue this guy or what. I want to know how to go about getting my money back. I read some stuff about people contacting the attorney general about it. There are alot of companies like this out there. We get at least 3 or 4 calls a month about them selling our timeshare just give them 1000,000 dollars up front someone is waiting to sign the papers on your unit! Blah Blah Blah! I do hope that God has mercy on His soul! God struck saul with blindess on the road to damascus and got his attention right? Well I hope He does the same for this man! Wake him up Lord! Thanks for being honest. I had been looking for a while for some info on this "supposed" company Land Ahoy. So now I know! If you do find out about a law suit or anything about refunds I would deeply appreciate an email from anyone! gwenlouque@yahoo.com.
thanks again
Gwendolyn L.
Last edited by gwendolynl2 on Aug 05, 2008 12:05 PM
YAP! Us too $699.00 that I did not have to spare! The only way I could afford to do this was to get money back for renting my timeshares and unfortunetly we all know that did not happen. I never heard a word from them unless I called them and then sometimes a guy named Mike would give me a call back to let me know they were running a special promotion and my timeshare would be shown in it. I had a great sales rep. he said he had worked for the US Government in the banking industry for years. He seemed to be a trust worthy person, I guess he was not. Then the last time I called them their phone was no longer working, it just made me sick. I did not even tell my husband because he was against this from the start. I did not need any more grief than I already had!
Sherry J.
I'm so sorry to see so many people were ripped off by Land Ahoy. If you would like get in contact with Don Crupi, here's a link to Land Ahoy Investments, LLC's business filings with the state of Florida. There's a contact address on that page.
http://sunbiz.org/scripts/cordet.exe?action=DETFIL&inq_doc_number=L05000072706&inq_came_from=NAMFWD&cor_web_names_seq_number=0000&names_name_ind=N&names_cor_number=&names_name_seq=&names_name_ind=&names_comp_name=LANDAHOY&names_filing_type=
If there is anything else I can do to help, please let me know.
John M.
It's nice to know the real deal, even though we got scammed also. We never heard another word from these people after paying our "fee". I guess it sounded so good because of morally honest people like you working for them. You made us believe in what you were selling. Unfortunately, it cost us.
Deb M.
Thanks, JonathanC, I just now read your post.
We had been contacted by Land Ahoy about selling one of our units but didn't take the offer.
Some businesses provide a genuine service for the fees they charge, others don't. Caveat emptor - buyer beware. But then, the people on this page have already been burned. Too bad there isn't a way to reach out to those waiting to be burned by the scam artists making unfounded promises when selling the places so people wouldn't need to hire services to dispose of the property.
But then, money talks in the resort communities so we would be shut down. Greed talks in our own minds so we shut out reason when making the purchase.
That is not to say buying a timeshare is bad. We have them. We use them, and can afford them.
If you can't afford one, don't buy it. Take a cooling off time during the purchase to think about it. Do some research to find out the reputation of the resort with the locals.
JonathanC - Thanks again for your post.
Larry E.
There are people that can help us.
I've got $100k rip off scam.
Obviously I will do everything in God's power to get my money back.
If my fight works, with the Lord helping me, I WILL LET EACH AND EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT IT.
I kick myself for falling to their scams.
I wish everyone strength; fight for what is wrong.
Fran B.
Thanks for 'fessing up!! I got ripped off by a similar company who was in the same building as Land Ahoy - they were Vacation Time International. I found a "confession" from one of their employees on the Ripp Off Report website who admitted it was all a scam and that she also felt guilty.
These people are the worst kind of scum. I too am trying to get my money back and complaining to any angecy I can. I am also going to sue them - however they recently closed up shop at their latest address (found out they were evicted by another renter in their office building) and their phones have been shut off. Talk about "breach of contract"!!
Good luck!! We both need it!
Lynnette F.
Worldwide Consolidators Ltd, Dallas or World Vacation Network, Florida were going to rent 10 yrs of our credits from us. We were told that we had to pay them the management fees first, for the 10 yrs to activate the credits, which we did. Infact, they ended up with 3 lots of fees (2 from our credit card and one from pay pal) and have still not completed the contract and I believe they have no intentions of doing so now that they have our money. Communication with them is impossible as they do not answer the telephone or e-mails. It is now clearly evident that they are fraudsters.
Richard T.
richardt205 wrote:My first step will be to contact the Attorney General's office in FL and/or Dallas, then contact the credit card companies and dispute the charges. If the payments were recent, you might be able to get the CCs to do a charge-back. I don't know if you have any recourse through PayPal if you paid via EBT.Worldwide Consolidators Ltd, Dallas or World Vacation Network, Florida were going to rent 10 yrs of our credits from us. We were told that we had to pay them the management fees first, for the 10 yrs to activate the credits, which we did. Infact, they ended up with 3 lots of fees (2 from our credit card and one from pay pal) and have still not completed the contract and I believe they have no intentions of doing so now that they have our money. Communication with them is impossible as they do not answer the telephone or e-mails. It is now clearly evident that they are fraudsters.
Good Luck
Mike N.
I too was scammed by Land Ahoy Poperties, by an EXTREMELY convincing man named Chris Baldwin in the sum of $899. I was a little bit lucky though. This company, Haufman &Associates, unfortunately went out of business, but an awesome lady named Karla Lopez *was* able to recover the money I paid them! She must've worked some magic, but she got the money back for me. Their fee was 50%, but I was still thrilled I got $450 back!
I got scammed by two companies, and Karla was working on the other one for me. This was in late 2007. I got contacted by another lady who told me Karla no longer worked there. There things went sour, because instead of getting the money back, and THEN sending me the difference, like Karla did, they took their payment BEFORE I got the money! Now that other company no longer exists, and neither does Haufman &Associates. I was happy Karla got me my $450 back though.
Nori N.
Any advise for my best approach at selling my fixed week (32)two bedroom lockout at Vacation Village At Parkway in Kissimmee, Fl? I've already been hounded by the 'marketers' ($995) upfront-Realty Trade- and TWA, and from all the input I've read about these 'scams', I do not plan to give any of them upfront money! Is my best option a Realtor, and if so, any recommendations in Orlando?
Thank you all-- Conrad R
Conrad R.
conradr4 >> Any advise for my best approach at selling...<< ============================================
Unfortunately, the timeshare resale market (like the overall economy) is currently pretty weak. In overbuilt Orlando / Kissimmee, it's even worse, since the supply of timeshares far exceeds the demand in that area, even in better times. On eBay, right now, there are a large number of weeks available in and around Orlando for a dollar (...with no bidders at all on many of them). Your best bet is probably to look at prices for a comparable week on several different sites and then advertise your week on your own, with a lower price than others advertised. You'd probably have a hard time even finding a realtor to take such a listing, since their minimum commission may very be higher than the timeshare is currently worth in the resale market...
KC