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Real Timeshare Marketing

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

Re: United States v. Darnell Disroe, Michael Lentine, and Michael Starace, Case Number 10-CR-30118-DRH

The United States Department of Justice believes it is important to keep victims of federal crime informed of court proceedings. This notice provides information about the above-referenced criminal case.

Beware of companies that promise that you can get your money back from a timeshare resale scam by paying them an upfront fee. This is a pervasive scam.

Recent Events:

On January 7, 2011, Michael Lentine was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay $249,432.75 in restitution and assessed a $300 fine.

On January 28, 2011, Michael Starace was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay $28,723.00 in restitution and assessed a $100 fine.

On May 6, 2011, Darnell Disroe was sentenced to 121 months imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay $1,110,072.97 in restitution and assessed a $100 fine.

On April 21, 2017, supervised release of Darnell Disroe was revoked and Disroe was sentenced to 8 months in prison to be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release.  Restitution was ordered in the amount of $1,076,332.32)

Indictment Returned:

On July 21, 2010, a federal grand jury returned an Indictment against DARNELL DISROE, age 38, and MICHAEL LENTINE, age 32, both of Boynton Beach, Florida; and MICHAEL STARACE, age 42, of Lantana, Florida. DISROE, LENTINE, and STARACE were each charged with conspiracy to commit certain offenses against the United States and mail fraud. In addition, DISROE and LENTINE each face four counts of mail fraud and STARACE faces a single count of mail fraud. Each count carries a penalty of up to 25 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, or both, and a term of supervised release of up to five years on each count.

The indictment alleges that the three operated under the name Real Timeshare Marketing and conducted a telemarketing timeshare resale scheme targeting timeshare owners throughout the United States and Canada. The indictment alleges that Real Timeshare Marketing falsely represented that it had found buyers for the consumers’ timeshare interests and solicited fees of up to several thousand dollars from each consumer in purported pre-paid closing costs and related expenses. The indictment alleges that the purported sales did not occur, closings were not scheduled as was often represented, and, in fact, Real Timeshare Marketing did not successfully sell any consumer’s timeshare interest. It is further alleged that Real Timeshare Marketing devoted essentially no resources to marketing their clients’ timeshare interest and simply pocketed the purported closing costs. In just a five month period between roughly December 1, 2009, when telemarketing sales commenced, and April 28, 2010, when the scheme was interrupted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, it is alleged that Real Timeshare Marketing victimized approximately 615 consumers in forty-six states and six provinces in Canada of over $1.3 million dollars.

Email Address:
USAILS.VW_ILS@usdoj.gov

Supporting Documents

Indictment | Press Release | Victim Impact Statements

Updated April 24, 2017