Employees of VO Group Indicated

A man was arrested for being involved in a mortgage fraud scheme last week. This scheme had more than 225 victims and robbed them of $2.6 million dollars. The man, Adam Lacerda, pleaded not guilty in his hearing at the federal court last Monday. Lacerda graduated from Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School and was CEO of VO Group. The VO Group was a timeshare firm located in Nashville, TN that was based in New Jersey. Lacerda currently faces charges of “mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering”. He, along with his wife and six others were indicated.

Allegedly, the workers of VO Group contacted timeshare owners and convinced them to sell their timeshare for a cut-rate price. They also had these sellers send them money to sell or cancel their timeshare. The money was mailed to a P.O. Box in New Jersey where Lacerda withdrew the money and used it for personal expenses.

The investigation revealed that these schemers tried to cover their tracks by purchasing another timeshare in the clients name in the ‘bait and switch’ tactic. In addition, Lacerda and his wife were also receiving unemployment while working for the company. The jury trial is scheduled for July 9^th in New Jersey.  

Transfer Smart warns all timeshare owners to be careful when hiring a company in regards to timeshares. There are a lot of timeshare fraud companies who have taken thousands of dollars from timeshare owners. 

Southwest's Customer of Size Policy

Transfer Smart reports on a woman who was allegedly told that she was ‘too fat to fly’. Kenlie Tiggeman, was told by a Southwest Airlines gate agent that she was too fat to fly last year. After receiving an apology Tiggeman continued to fly with the said company. However, the incident happened again this year and Tiggeman has taken matters into her own hands and proceeds to sue the airline company.

Tiggeman is a woman from New Orleans and once weighed over four-hundred pounds. Unhappy with her weight she decided to go on a quest to lose some unwanted pounds. However, her biggest gripe with airlines is their inconsistent ‘Customer of Size’ policy.

Tiggeman commented, “The problem I have with Southwest is not that they may want me to purchase two seats. It’s that sometimes they want that, and other times they don’t.”

Last year, a gate agent humiliated her in front of other passengers by stating that she was too fat to fly and would have to purchase an additional seat. After filing a complaint, the agent apologized to Tiggeman and Tiggeman agreed to fly with Southwest again.  After flying with the airline on two separate occasions without having to purchase a second seat, she was surprised to be told that she was again too fat to fly.

“Paying double because a gate agent may or may not have something against overweight people is not realistic…nor should it be necessary.”

Frustrated Tiggeman decided to take action against Southwest. She stated that the legal action isn’t about money but to have the airline clarify its Customer of Size policy.

Tiggeman commented, “As a consumer, I may not have been born with the innate right to fly, but as a consumer who is willing to pay, I do have a right to understand the rules clearly at the point of purchase. [Right now], it’s left to interpretation. So if they can take the guess work out of it then everyone will be better off moving forward and that’s what I’m trying to accomplish."

When asked to comment, Southwest stated that their policy and rules are clearly stated online. The airline advises consumers that if they encroach upon the neighboring seats they need to purchase an additional seat. Tiggeman understood this policy and stated that she is able to sit in any seat with the armrest down but when she wanted to demonstrate this to the gate agent, they turned her down and firmly stated that she needed to purchase an additional seat.

A blogger commented, “Nobody deserves to be embarrassed at the gates. However, I also understand the airline’s perspective. Making clear-cut guidelines is absolutely not as simple as you think it is. The policy could not be based on weight, because people carry [it] so differently.”

TSA Agent Returns Lost Envelope

Transfer Smart reports on a Transportation Security Administration officer who has been credited for returning an envelope with $9,500 to a passenger, Carlos Palma, who had allegedly lost the carry-on item. The envelope was dropped at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on April 11 at the security checkpoint. The passenger was unaware that he had dropped the envelope and continued on his flight to Iowa.

The TSA officer, Don Williams, commented, “I picked it up off the floor and palmed it in my hand so that no one could see it. At that point, I took it to a private screening area, where it was counted and saw it was 95 $100 bills.”

Williams made an announcement and asked passengers if anyone had lost anything. However, no one responded. When Palma reached Iowa he realized that he had dropped his money and called the airport to see if it was discovered. After confirmation, the money was returned to Palma and he stated that he was proud of the way the TSA handled the situation.

Williams stated that he lives by “always do[ing] the right thing, and that way you can live with yourself.”