GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. -- A former employee with the Timeshare Termination Team says she was just as shocked as clients when the company closed its office and vanished with people's hard-earned money.
"I think the clients of Timeshare Termination Team need to know it was a shock to the employees as well as a shock to them," said the former employee during an interview with Contact Denver7.
The former employee spoke on the condition of anonymity. She did not want to identify herself because she said the company made employees sign documents promising not to discuss the business. She's also worried about finding a new job after being abruptly laid off in June.
"It was a very quick layoff. It was basically, 'This is the last day our company will be in business,' and that was it," said the woman.
The former employee said she worked at Timeshare Termination Team for less than a year and during that time it seemed like a legitimate business.
"That’s the part of me that breaks. That’s very sad that these people no longer have that money, and they thought they were entrusting it to a company that could assist them," said the former employee. She also added that she never would've continued working for them if she thought it was a scam.
"I was a cog in the wheel," she said. "No one saw it coming. No one predicted it. We knew that there was still work to be done and people needed assistance."
Contact Denver7 is continuing to investigate the company and its ownership structure. A man named Brian Wilbur made the rounds on local television and introduced himself as Timeshare Termination Team's founder.
Wilbur and other people who claimed to be with the company were interviewed on a Denver7 sales program that is not affiliated with the news department. Timeshare Termination Team also appeared on other stations in the Denver TV market and across the country.
During one of the clips, Wilbur said, "We can come in and save that day. That's really what we do."
Contact Denver7 began looking into Wilbur and went to his home in Douglas County. His wife said he was not home and refused to answer any questions about Timeshare Termination Team. She closed the door when Denver7's Liz Gelardi asked, "What happened to all the money that people paid you?"
Multiple victims have reached out to Contact Denver7 after watching the story of a grandmother who is now out $14,000 after hiring the company to break her timeshare contract.
“We all had a really bad sick taste in our mouth because you would have to be pretty shameless not to have that feeling," said the former employee after she saw the story.
Katherine Toppin is the latest victim to reach out. She said gave Timeshare Termination Team a $4,000 deposit when she signed on in February 2020 and continued paying $120 per month until June of this year.
"I said, 'Well, how far along are you with the process? Well, we’re getting there,'" said Toppin. "The last correspondence that I received from him was in June, saying Happy Fourth of July.”
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