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Florida man out on bail accused of new timeshare telemarketing scam
William O’Hanlon was ordered by a judge to cease business operations
A Florida man who was out on bail while facing wire fraud charges related to his telemarketing business was ordered to shut down his most recent time-share telemarketing venture amid additional allegations of fraud.
William O’Hanlon had been arrested on April 4 and accused of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy related to his operation of Williams Andrews Burns, a telemarketing business that charged upfront fees to provide services to timeshare owners, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release.
As a condition of his release on bail, O’Hanlon was prohibited from accessing others’ personal identifying information and committing any federal, state, or local crimes. However, during that time, O’Hanlon allegedly continued to defraud timeshare owners through a new business venture, Ryan James & Daniels Corp., and related entities.
While on bail, O’Hanlon reportedly mailed letters to timeshare owners, falsely claiming that they were potential victims of timeshare fraud and promising to collect restitution on their behalf. These letters referenced a decades-old lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission and falsely stated that the FTC had collected $500 million to refund timeshare fraud victims, when in reality no such funds had been collected.
Following a bail review hearing on Aug. 7, a judge determined that there was probable cause to believe that O’Hanlon had committed mail and wire fraud through newer RJD business while on pretrial release.
The judge ordered O’Hanlon to cease operations of multiple entities associated with RJD and found that he had violated his bail conditions by having access to personal identifying information.
O’Hanlon isn’t the only person to be accused of further real estate malfeasance while already facing punishment related to previous business crimes.
A 53-year-old North Carolina man was recently handed a three-year prison sentence for violating the terms of his supervised release and structuring transactions to avoid reporting requirements. Ricky Lamont Congleton pleaded guilty to the charges on Nov. 9, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
In October 2014, Congleton was sentenced to 66 months in prison for orchestrating a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme that involved using straw buyers to purchase properties developed by him and others. The properties were then sold at a discount, with the down payments being concealed from banks through the help of a co-conspiring attorney.
Upon his release from prison — and while still under federal supervision — authorities opened an investigation into Congleton’s cash transactions. It was revealed that he moved significant sums of cash into various bank accounts to purchase new properties.