Couple Indicted on Owning Fraudulent Vacation Companies Including Manalapan Location

The owner of a Manalapan vacation travel club company and his wife were indicted by the state grand jury on Friday, April 19 on charges of conspiracy and money laundering, Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chisea announced Tuesday.

Marlton couple Daryl Turner, 41, and wife Robyn Bernstyn, 43, owned and operated eight vacation travel club companies, including one in Manalapan.

The indictment alleges that the couple stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from customers by pitching phony vacation travel membership packages and collecting fees for free promotional airfares or cruises that were never delivered.

According to the indictment, Turner and Bernstein falsely promised sizable discounts and benefits to the people who bought vacation packages, which typically cost between $2,200 and $6,500, knowing that the promised discounts and benefits were not available. Additionally, the couple reportedly did not supply free round-trip airline tickets and cruises after customers paid the couple hundreds of dollars in fees and surcharges in order to qualify for the supposed free promotional trips. 

Over $700,000 in criminal proceeds from the victims were allegedly laundered by Turner and Bernstein through two personal bank accounts; the money was reportedly used to purchase their home in Marlton.

In 2009, La Bonne Vie Travel, Turner’s Manalapan location, was added as a  defendant in a lawsuit filed by the Office of the Attorney General and its Division of Consumer Affairs against Turner and his businesses. Turner was first arrested on theft charges in July 2011 when a lien was placed on his Marlton home and assets including three luxury cars were seized by the Division of Criminal Justice.

“Like a pair of old-school con artists, Turner and Bernstein allegedly operated eight different travel companies in a little over four years, closing one company down and opening another in a new location whenever they felt the heat because consumers learned of their fraud,” said Attorney General Chiesa. “The defendants allegedly tricked people out of their hard-earned money, promising vacation deals that they knew did not exist. Because of the large sums of money involved, which they allegedly laundered, they will face lengthy prison sentences if convicted.”    

In addition to the conspiracy and money laundering charges, both Turner and Bernstein face two counts of theft by deception. Turner is also charged with four counts of failure to file a state income tax return between 2008 and 2011 and failure to file a 2011 state income tax return.

The money laundering and conspiracy charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison each and the money laundering charge carries fines and penalties of up to $1 million. The theft by deception charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $150,000, while the failure ti file tax returns carries a sentence of three to five years in prison and up to a $15,000 fine.

This indictment proceeded from a criminal investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice with assistance from the U.S. Postal Service and the New Jersey Division of Taxation. The investigation was prompted by a referral from the Division of Consumer Affairs.