N.J. Man Sentenced to 27 Years of Prison for Timeshare Fraud

A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for scamming vacation-timeshare customers of $3 million.

Adam Lacerda of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., was convicted in 2013 of several counts of fraud, in which he was accused of selling phony consulting services to the holders of mortgages on timeshare properties, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Lacerda ordered his employees of his company, VO Financial, to tell timeshare holders that VO worked with banks holding their mortgages, and that if the customers sent VO money, VO would pay off the mortgages on their behalf, according to the FBI. The timeshare customers were told by VO that they would have timeshares canceled with money back.

Several other defendants were convicted during Lacerda's trial, including his wife, Ashley Lacerda, and Ian Resnick of Absecon, N.J., a convicted bank robber.