Telemarketer Sentenced for Role in Multi-Million Dollar Scam

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that Christopher Garten, 24, of Orlando, FL, was sentenced in federal court this morning on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with telemarketing. Garten was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Garten was also ordered to pay $32,508 in restitution and a $100 special assessment.

The investigation determined that Garten was a telemarketer for National Solutions and related companies located in Orlando, Florida. National Solutions defrauded consumers across the continent using the fictitious names, Bluescape Timeshares International, Country Wide Timeshares, Countrywide Timeshares MA, Landmark Timeshares, Propertys Direct, Quicksale Propertys, Sun Property Networks, Sun Property’s, Universal Propertys, VIM Timeshares, Propertys DRK, Quick Sale Advisers, Quick Sale International, City Resorts, Resort Advisers, American Timeshares, Exit Week, and Resort Advisors International. These companies targeted owners of timeshares throughout the United States and Canada. In various court filings related to the National Solutions scam, the government has alleged that the overall scam bilked over 2,500 consumers out of at least $6 million, including eight victims within the Southern District of Illinois.

This prosecution is one of nearly one-hundred 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 Midwest Region Office of the Federal Trade Commission and the St. Louis Field Office of the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Service. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States AttorneysWilliam Coonan and Michael Hallock.