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In a case that Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita says is reflective of a frequent timeshare scheme of Mexico-based criminal organizations, a travel company purportedly based in Jasper is accused of fraud and identity theft.
The Attorney General’s Office in a lawsuit accused GoGo Travel Consulting LLC of falsely representing itself as an Indiana-licensed real estate broker as part of a scheme to dupe the owners of timeshares in Mexico.
According to the lawsuit a company representative, saying he was the broker, reached out to a pair of Arizona residents about leasing their timeshare in Mexico. He purportedly deposited funds into a bank account for the benefit of the Arizona couple and provided a statement from a Mexican tourism office and a bank transaction receipt, but both statements were bogus.
A subsequent statement purportedly from the tourism office said the Arizona couple then needed to pay fees for the rental of their timeshare.
The couple became suspicious, the lawsuit said, and asked for photo verification and identification. When the company representative said that doing so would violate Go Go Travel policy, the couple later contacted the actual broker, who was unaware of the identity theft.
Subsequent investigation found that the phone number listed on the website for Go Go Travel Consulting is a spoofed VOIP address registered to a pair of Mexican nationals, the lawsuit said, and the company itself has never resided at the Jasper address it provided to register as an Indiana business.
“As we work to protect Hoosiers, we will continue holding accountable those who engage in these kinds of illegal shakedowns,” Attorney General Rokita said in a news release. “We encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of timeshare fraud to contact our office immediately.”
Inside INdiana Business has left voice mail and email messages with Go Go Travel at the contact information noted on its website.
The attorney general is asking the Dubois Superior Court to dissolve the Indiana corporation and prohibit its representatives from undertaking any further activities.
The attorney general’s news release noted that federal authorities have found that timeshare fraud schemes are frequently perpetrated by Mexico-based criminal organizations to fund criminal activities such as drug and human trafficking.
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