Leader of telemarketing scheme targeting timeshare owners over the age of 55, wife, plead guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admit fraudulent conduct[...]

Date: May 13, 2025

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Camden, NJ - The leader of a fraudulent telemarketing scheme and his wife, who served as controller/bookkeeper of the fraudulent companies, recently each pled guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their participation in a telemarketing scheme to defraud timeshare owners over the age of 55, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

William O'Hanlon, a.k.a. "Patrick Burns," a.k.a. "William Burns," of Loxahatchee, Florida, pleaded guilty on May 9, 2025, before the Hon. Karen M. Williams, U.S. District Judge, Camden, to Counts One and Two of a 13-count Indictment, charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing that targeted or victimized timeshare owners over the age of 55 (Count One) and wire fraud in connection with telemarketing that targeted or victimized timeshare owners over the age of 55 (Count Two). O'Hanlon's sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 22, 2025.

O'Hanlon's wife, Karen Stefanowski, of Loxahatchee, Florida, pleaded guilty on April 30, 2025, before the Hon. Karen M. Williams, U.S. District Judge, Camden, to Counts One and Three of a 13-count Indictment, charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing that targeted or victimized timeshare owners over the age of 55 (Count One) and wire fraud in connection with telemarketing that targeted or victimized timeshare owners over the age of 55 (Count Three). Stefanowski's sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 4, 2025.

O'Hanlon and Stefanowski were previously charged in the indictment along with James Toner, of Lake Mary, Florida, and William Chiusano Jr., of Laguna Niguel, California. Chiusano is now deceased, and charges against him have been dismissed. In addition, Alex Klemash, of Williamstown, New Jersey, Michael Lambe, of Mullica Hill, New Jersey, and La'Tresa Jackson, of Lindenwold, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before Judge Williams on March 8, 9, and 13, 2023, respectively, to related informations charging them with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the WAB telemarketing scheme. Their sentencings are pending.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Williams Andrews & Burns ("WAB") (October 2016-October 2020)

The wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud charge to which O'Hanlon and Stefanowski pleaded guilty arise out of their participation in a timeshare fraud scheme operated through businesses Williams Andrews Burns LLC, Resort BNB, Inc., and Williams & Burns, Inc. (collectively referred to as "WAB").

From in or about October 2016 through in or about October 2020, the defendants and additional co-conspirators (collectively referred to as "Conspirators"), engaged in a scheme to financially enrich themselves by selling fraudulent services to timeshare owners offered through WAB, including offering to rent and/or buy the owners' timeshares under false and fraudulent pretenses or representations, and offering to recover monies timeshare owners had previously paid in connection with other scams. The Conspirators obtained lists of timeshare owners and their contact information, and cold-called them to pitch their various services in return for upfront fees.

The conspirators made numerous false and misleading statements to the timeshare owners, including falsely stating that the timeshare owners had "bonus" timeshare weeks which WAB would rent for them in return for an upfront fee, and falsely guaranteeing thousands of dollars in rental income for the timeshare owners. Once the timeshare owners had signed up and paid their fees for the phony rentals services, the Conspirators also generally pitched collections/recovery services, offering to obtain refunds of monies previously paid by the timeshare owners in other fraudulent scams, in return for fees. Again, the Conspirators made numerous false and misleading statements in many instances to both timeshare owners and the banks that issues their credit cards. One of the fraudulent pitches used by the Conspirators was to falsely claim that the timeshare owner had been identified as a victim of timeshare fraud and was entitled to monies that were held by a government entity, often referred to as the attorney general's office or the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), and that WAB would obtain those monies for the timeshare owner in return for the payment of an upfront fee. The Conspirators also offered additional fraudulent services to timeshare owners, including occasionally offering timeshare buyouts/take-overs.

Ryan James & Daniels Corporation ("RJD") (November 2020-August 2023)

As part of their guilty pleas, O'Hanlon and Stefanowski also admitted that they committed fraud against timeshare owners from in or around November 2020 through in or around August 2023, through a different but overlapping set of entities, including Ryan James & Daniels Corporation, Williams & Burns, Inc., and Resort BNB, Inc. (collectively referred to as "RJD"). This was a violation of their bail conditions because they continued to commit fraud after they were arrested on the WAB Indictment in April 2023, contrary to the conditions of their pretrial release not to commit another crime and not to have access to the personal identifying information (PII) of others.

O'Hanlon and Stefanowski both agreed to make restitution for any proven losses to victims of WAB and victims of RJD.

Each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud is punishable by a maximum of 30 years in prison, including an enhancement of 10 years in prison for committing such fraud via telemarketing that targeted persons over the age of 55 or victimized 10 or more persons over the age of 55. The sentences on each count may run consecutively. Each offense also carries a potential fine of the greater of $250,000,or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, and the defendants may be sentenced to a term of supervised release after any term of imprisonment imposed.

U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the IRS Criminal Investigations, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer Piovesan; agents of the FBI's Philadelphia Division, South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs; and special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge, Cooperative Disability Investigations - Eastern Region, Conor Washington, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diana Vondra Carrig and Elisa T. Wiygul of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Camden.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.