December 8, 2020
Wyndham Carriage Resorts did not allow an exit under any circumstances. This led to the decision to sell both resorts in January of 2021. Wyndham’s voluntary surrender program, Ovations, was of no help to Wyndham Carriage owners, even for those with debilitating medical conditions. Timeshare Developers are not acknowledging that timeshare exit providers are a symptom of a problem created timeshare Developer. The resistance to a secondary market for timeshares has led to untold grief for thousands of families who contact exit companies and attorneys every day. Cornerstone, owned by a former Wyndham Carriage Resorts sales agent, is one example.
By Sean Fowler, Canada
Timeshares are typically owned for many years, so promises made at purchase may be a far cry from what happens years down the road. Carriage Hills and Carriage Ridge Resorts were purchased by Shell Vacation Club (SVC), and Wyndham in turn purchased SVC. Maybe Shell and Wyndham did not make the promises at purchase, but that did not change the unfairness of those who did rely on practices and promises in existence at purchase.
Original Carriage Resorts timeshare buyers were presented a flyer that promised:
Freeze the cost of vacations,
Worry-free vacations,
A $ Equity position.
Our Experience
My family is among many families who have lost money to Wyndham in the form of maintenance fees paid for a timeshare not being used, and to Cory Stegemann’s Cornerstone Vacation Ownership and the Cyria Group. Like many employees of exit companies, Cory Stegemann worked in sales at Carriage Resorts.
In November of 2018, Cornerstone Sales Director Ralph Link and salesperson Gail Joyes told us that upon signing up with Cornerstone/Cyria, we “made our last Carriage Resort maintenance fee payment.” It was explained at the start of the transfer process, that while the process could take some time, it was fully guaranteed. We were to receive regular updates and would have a dedicated person assigned to us.
Mr. Link and Ms. Joyes misrepresented important facts. As former Carriage Ridge employees, they should have known that their promise of release from a Carriage Ridge timeshare agreement could NEVER be fulfilled. We remember Mr. Link congratulating us, assuring us that we had not been victimized. I never heard from him again, despite countless phone messages. I learned Mr. Link was charged with an unrelated case of fraud in Collingwood Ontario, but the charges were withdrawn in February of 2020. He was ordered to pay restitution.
We next spoke with Cory Stegemann’s son, Kial Stegemann. We became uneasy when the online portal that was supposed to provide updates had no meaningful updates. I received a bounced email notification informing us that Kial was no longer involved.
I eventually tracked down Stegemann’s other son Riley. After a few days of inaction, he escalated me to Jon Russell, Cory’s partner. Russell, a former furniture salesman, threatened legal action if I did not stop harassing Riley Stegemann. Other key personnel (Jacob Cobb, Gail Joyes, Enrique Blanco, Scott Roberts and Natasha Amber) left the company. Then phone lines went dead, email accounts bounced back, and their website (https://www.cornerstonevo.com/) went black.
The fear that we had been defrauded peaked the following year in October of 2019. Two former officials we found via LinkedIn divulged that Cornerstone/Cyria never had any intention of fulfilling their commitment. They advised us to inform the authorities or retain an attorney. We ultimately did both.
Our lawyer issued a notice of rescission. It was ignored. He also issued a letter to Alicia Dickson of the Consumer Affairs Department, Legal Services at Carriage Hills Resort expressing concerns that we had not been advised at purchase to obtain independent legal advice. That letter was also ignored. We filed complaints with:
York Regional Police
Ontario Provincial Police
Ministry of Government and Consumer Services
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
Florida Department of Revenue
Florida Division of Corporations
Association of Vacation Owners (AVO)
Florida Office of Attorney General
Internal Revenue Service
In my research I discovered:
• Stegemann is listed as a principal in at least 12 different LLCs, 5 of which operate out of the same residential address (317 Reobling Rd S, Belleair, FL). Other residents at that address are also involved in questionable timeshare related LLCs.
• Stegemann/Cornerstone have been sued by former employees (Santos v Cornerstone) and suppliers (Gunn Marketing Group v Cornerstone), and did not pay others (i.e. David Waller of LegalAsprin.com). They were also sued by at least two parties in the state of Florida.
• Stegemann and Jon Russell both made false statements on business registrations (Travelwise Marketing Solutions and Cufflink LLC) in Florida which the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has referred to the FBI.
Cory Stegemann was forced to remove himself from the Canadian Vacation Ownership Association (CVOA) Board of Directors in the early part of 2019. According to the CVOA website, CVOA is an industry association that is dedicated to furthering the ownership-based vacation and resort development industry.
We have established a Facebook group called “Cornerstone / Cyria Victims” in an attempt to determine the breadth of timeshare owners harmed.
Cornerstone Vacation Ownership and Cyria Group
I sent an email December 15, 2019 to PERSPECTIVE MAGAZINE hoping they would consider a story about Cory Stegemann and Cornerstone Vacation Ownership/Cyria Group. They had published about 25 articles concerning Cory & Sandra Stegemann and their network of companies. I received no response.
In January of 2021 Cory and Sandra Stegemann will be appearing in court in Newmarket, Ontario to face 26 charges that include:
• 6 counts of engaging in an unfair practice by making a false, misleading or deceptive representation
• 10 counts of failing to refund payment to a consumer within fifteen days of the consumer having given notice of cancellation of the consumer agreement
• 10 counts of failing to deliver to a consumer a future performance and a timeshare agreement
Unfortunately, timeshare owners that contracted with Cornerstone and the Cyria Group are not likely to recoup any of the thousands of dollars spent seeking release from timeshares. The sheer volume of victims should have warranted industry insiders like Perspective Magazine to acknowledge the story. We hear from the industry mostly about the wonder and joy of vacations. Not so much about heartache and financial loss caused by the timeshare industry and their unwillingness to assume a share of the responsibility.
Related Articles
Timeshare Elimination Team did not honor their money-back guarantee. There was never anything Timeshare Elimination Team, the Principal Transfer Group, or any exit company or law firm could have done to help any Wyndham Carriage Resort owner, achieve a release from their timeshare.