Timeshare Resale Scammer Gilbert Brett Freeman Sentenced to 20 Years for Bilking 1,400 Owners of $4.8 Million

Case from 2016 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Feb. 2, 2016). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Gilbert Brett Freeman, an Aurora, Illinois, native who ran fraudulent Mexican real estate businesses, was sentenced on Feb. 2, 2016, to 20 years in federal prison for a $4.8 million scheme against more than 1,400 timeshare owners, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1].

How the scheme worked

According to Freeman's plea declaration and the charges, as described by prosecutors [1]:

1. The companies: Freeman was involved with Mexico-based companies including International Resorts Resale, Resort Closing Services, Timeshare Consolidators, Timeshare Liquidators and Transfer My Timeshare.
2. Lead generators: Callers told owners the companies could arrange sales of their Mexican timeshares to corporate buyers.
3. "Liners": Employees arranged a first payment they said was refundable. It wasn't.
4. "Closers": Others pressed owners to pay more for fake fees and taxes supposedly required to close Mexican real estate deals, promising refunds at closing. Liners and closers earned commissions on each payment.
5. Fake escrow: Supposed "escrow employees" claimed to represent independent businesses and said the money was safely held. There was no escrow, and they worked for Freeman's companies.

Freeman never intended to sell the timeshares or refund anyone. He spent the money on a penthouse at an oceanfront resort, Rolex watches, vacations and a $1,399-a-day Lamborghini rental in Las Vegas. Some victims lived in the Chicago area.

The person sentenced

Gilbert Brett Freeman, 44 at sentencing, an Aurora native most recently living in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico [1]

• Arrest: July 2012, in Las Vegas.
• Plea (2014): pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud.
• Sentence (Feb. 2, 2016): 240 months in prison, imposed by U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo.
• Investigation: FBI Chicago, with the Federal Trade Commission's Midwest Region.

At the time of Freeman's sentencing, prosecutors said 11 defendants had been charged in the scheme, which ran from 2008 to January 2015. Four, including Freeman, had pleaded guilty, and the others had pleaded not guilty. This article covers only Freeman's case.

Red flags

• An unsolicited call saying a buyer is waiting for your timeshare.
• Upfront "closing costs," fees or foreign taxes before any sale, especially with promises of a refund at closing.
• An "escrow agent" you didn't choose and can't verify independently.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Never pay upfront to sell a timeshare. Legitimate resale agents are generally paid from the proceeds at closing.
2. Verify any escrow company yourself, through licensing records, not phone numbers the seller provides.
3. Report timeshare resale scams to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Gilbert Brett Freeman, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (Aurora native)	N.D. Ill. (Judge Bucklo)	Arrested July 2012; pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud in 2014; sentenced Feb. 2, 2016, to 240 months	[1]

The sentence was imposed in 2016; we have not found a source on any later proceedings in Freeman's case.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Former Aurora Resident Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for $4.8 Million International Timeshare Fraud," Feb. 2, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/former-aurora-resident-sentenced-20-years-prison-48-million-international-timeshare

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