A long prison term was handed out on Wednesday to a figure in an extensive telemarketing timeshare scam.
Sholem Joel Epstein was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to nine years in prison and three years of supervised release.
Epstein ran the finances for a group of companies that bilked over 38,000 people out of $15.4 million, according to U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan. He was convicted after a four-week trial of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
Judge Young commented that the operation was “the most enormous, sophisticated, complex, and far-reaching mail fraud scheme that this court has ever seen–and you, Mr. Epstein, were absolutely essential to it.”
Young also ordered a preliminary forfeiture of bank accounts previous seized by the federal government.
Donald Gonczy, the mastermind of the scheme, was sentenced last week to seven years’ imprisonment. Another convicted defendant, John Handel, will be sentenced on Dec. 11.
According to U.S. Attorneys, Gonczy and Epstein established a network of more than a dozen companies. Their objective was to persuade timeshare owners wanting to sell their timeshares to purchase a $399 “appraisal,” according to U.S. attorneys.
To accomplish this, they established bogus appraisal and buying companies. Working through boiler rooms, these firms contacted the owners and told they would buy their timeshares if they obtained an appraisal.
Most of the victims either never received a purchase order or received one that was 15% of the “appraised” value, the government continued.
Other co-conspirators have also been sentenced. Gonczy’s son, Scott Gonczy, was sentenced to 3 years and ten months’ imprisonment.
Gonczy’s daughter, Jill Gonczy Upton, cooperated with the government and was rewarded with three months of community confinement and one year and three months of home detention. Todd Gonczy, another of Gonczy’s children, also cooperated and received five years’ probation.
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