June 27, 2015
A South Jersey businessman will spend 27 years in prison for his involvement in a $3 million conspiracy to scam timeshare owners by offering fraudulent consulting services to customers.
Adam Lacerda, 31, of Atlantic County, was convicted in September 2013 of defrauding hundreds of timeshare owners through the Egg Harbor Township-based Vacation Ownership Group LLC (now VO Financial), according to the FBI.
Lacerda directed his sales force to lie to VO customers, telling them that the company worked with the banks holding their loans, would use money sent by customers to pay off their loans, and could cancel customers' timeshares with money back.
Fourteen victims testified during the 7-week trial in a Camden federal court, including business executives, veterans and senior citizens. Lacerda was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, nine counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud. His wife, Ashley, was among three co-defendants also convicted at the same trial who still await sentencing.
