Back in May 2020, Inside Timeshare published a warning on a company contacting timeshare owners with the wonderful news that significant amounts of money have been seized by the courts. This money is being allocated to “past victims” of fraud by this company on behalf of the courts, but there are “fees” which need to be paid first in order to release the money.
https://insidetimeshare.com/consumer-warning-marie-osborne-blackstone-international-ltd-fake/
The call is made by a Marie Osbourne who is calling on behalf of a company called Blackstone International Ltd, with the Company Registration Number 03949032, registered address:
40 Berkeley Square London W1J 5AL
Unfortunately, this is not the same company as the one claimed by Marie Osbourne, This registration and address is for a company called Blackstone International Group Ltd, which is a very large group of companies in the financial sector and the UK company is just a small part of a large US-based company.
The telephone numbers given by Marie Osbourne is 020 7193 0356 which appears to be a “purchased” number, other numbers given are 020 7451 4000 and 020 7451 4001.
The last number when contacted is for another genuine company that has nothing to do with timeshare either, this was confirmed when called. The receptionist passed our call to another member of staff who confirmed they have nothing to do with timeshare, that there was no one by the name of Marie Osbourne employed by them and they also confirmed they had received many calls by “owners” inquiring about this after calls from Maire Osbourne.
We now move on to the most damning part of our enquiries, it is the bank account which Marie Osbourne gives to “victims” to make the payments.
The bank details where the money has to be paid are Sort Code 04-03-01 and the Account Number 0000032. When checking the account the following is found, IBAN GB02LHVB04030100000323, BIC LHVBGB2LXXX. This account is for the UK branch of LHV Pank an Estonian banking and financial services company headquartered in Tallinn. It also happens to be the fourth largest bank in Estonia.
The payment is also supposed to go to a third-party company called PULS 8 Ltd, which when we have checked them are a company called Puls 8 (Cyprus) Ltd. This company was registered in July 2018 in the Cyprus Company Register and the company directors are Jonathan David Lassman and Mark Andrew Eddison.
This is a genuine company, it works in the medical sector and has partners across Europe.
Their website is:
After our initial report, we did attempt to make contact but unfortunately were unable to, eventually, Mark Eddison did make contact with Inside Timeshare, he explained about his company and the reason for making contact. It turns out that prospective clients and partners of his company had seen the posts and became very concerned and wanted confirmation that they had nothing to do with it.
He told Inside Timeshare that the Estonian bank account had nothing to do with his company, that they had nothing to do with timeshare, claims or anything of that nature.
On checking his company along with the details supplied by Mr Eddisson and his partner Mr Lassmann, it has been confirmed that this company name has been used for illegal purposes unbeknown to the owners.
Their company details have been used by whoever is behind this fraud to open a bank account using a genuine company name, regardless of the consequences to the genuine company.
Puls8 Ltd have informed the authorities and their lawyers are also working on the case, so let us hope that the perpetrators are caught and brought to justice.
So we have not one but what looks like three different companies being used to give a “criminal” enterprise some semblance of credibility. These examples of how the “crooks” will manipulate the truth to confuse timeshare owners into believing they are dealing with genuine companies.
These “crooks” are not only “ripping off” innocent timeshare owners but they are also potentially destroying the business and credibility of genuine companies who have nothing to do with the timeshare industry.
All this just goes to reinforce how difficult it is for timeshare owners to know who to trust, who is genuine and who are the potential crooks, just doing a quick search of the internet may show a list of company names which then gives you a sense of security, they are listed so they must be genuine. But, is the company that you find on the internet the same one that called you?
The chances are it is not.
Over the years Inside Timeshare has published many articles on the lengths the “fraudsters” will go in order to convince you they are genuine, the most notable are the Litigious Abogados Family, who have used “stolen” pictures of genuine people as their lawyers. These have included a past (now deceased) President of Venezuela, the Ambassador to Argentina of Azerbaijan and even a sitting District Court Judge in California to name but a few.
Then we have the “fake” court documents, most consumers would not be able to tell the “fakes” from the genuine, the use of official logos and letterheads, these are all designed to convince you to part with your money. Giving “credibility” to the lies that you are told during the initial “cold call”.
Once again Inside Timeshare cannot stress enough the importance of doing your “HOMEWORK” before engaging and especially paying any company that contacts you. It is also important to do your “HOMEWORK” before engaging with any company that you have found yourself.
If you are not sure of any company and would like to know if they are genuine, then use our contact page and Inside Timeshare will get back to you.
Remember, even genuine companies are becoming “victims” to these crooks.
