The Wisconsin Department of Justice announced that Missouri-based timeshare exit company RSI LLC, which does business as Relief Solutions International, has received a $2.5 million judgment and been ordered to pay back its Wisconsin customers, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
The company and its owners, Philip Russell Turner II and Burton Cummings, were sued in August 2022 based on a referral from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Turner and Cummings are personally liable, according to the judgment entered by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Diane Schlipper, as they exercised full operational control over Relief Solutions International.
The defendants reportedly sent thousands of illegal mailers to Wisconsin residents, seeking to attract them to in-person sales presentations where pricey “timeshare exit” services with substantial upfront fees were sold.
The judgment requires the defendants to pay over $20,000 to refund specifically identified Wisconsin consumers, in addition to the $2.5 million monetary penalty, and it allows all other Wisconsin residents who paid money to request refunds for a five-year period by petitioning the court.
The court is also permanently barring the defendants from the marketing or sale of timeshare exit services in the state and from engaging in any direct marketing in Wisconsin without the prior notification of DATCP.
