A timeshare resale company which operated out of a Fort Lauderdale, FL storefront has been accused by the Federal Trade Commission in a civil lawsuit of bilking $5 million from those who hoped to unload their vacation rentals, and it allegedly made some payments to wine merchant Roberto Settineri as reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel.
U.S. and Italian authorities suspect that Settineri is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia, and last year he was sentenced to four years following his conviction in a scheme to destroy evidence and launder money for Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein.
In a press release announcing the action the FTC says the company and its operators promised consumers "that they had buyers lined up and waiting" but "only after making a hefty up-front payment did the consumers learn that there were no buyers, and that it was nearly impossible to get their money back from the defendants, many of whom have long criminal histories" including alleged masterminds Pasquale "Posh" Pappalardo and Joseph "Joey" Crapella.
Comments