Florida Man Pleads Guilty To Role In Telemarketing Scam

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Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on January 20, 2015, Lev M. Derbaremdiker, 30, of Delray Beach, FL, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with telemarketing. The investigation determined that Derbaremdiker was a telemarketer at C&G Marketing Associates, LLC, a Florida corporation which, in 2009, defrauded consumers across the continent using the fictitious name, Premier Timeshare Solutions (“PTS”). Working out of an office building in West Palm Beach, Florida, PTS targeted owners of timeshares throughout the United States. In various court filings related to the PTS scam, the overall scam bilked some $14.5 million from over 7,000 consumers throughout the United States and Canada, including dozens of victims within the Southern District of Illinois. Sentencing is set for May 11, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. Derbaremdiker will face up to 25 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to 5 years of supervised release.

This prosecution is one of nearly 50 timeshare resale fraud prosecutions brought in the Southern District of Illinois over the past four years. The case is part of an ongoing investigation by the St. Louis Field Office of the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Florida Department of Agriculture. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hallock and Assistant United States Attorney William Coonan.