Texas AG Lays Down Law On All Inclusive Excursions
In the wake of Preston Hollow People March 5 cover story about Royal Palms Travel, aka All Inclusive Excursions, a travel club customers claim scammed them out of thousands of dollars, Texas assistant attorney general Patricia Stein has filed suit against the company and director Adrian Miller last week.
Okay, so the AG’s lawsuit has been in the works for some time and our story had absolutely nothing to do with it. But still.
The suit itself introduces some interesting wrinkles to the story. According to the lawsuit, Miller is only a “front person” for William Bailey and Christy Spensberger, who are listed as sharing an Illinois address. The two are co-owners with Miller of a Royal Palms bank account. Spensberger is listed as director of Funseekers Vacations, which received more than $123,000 in membership dues from Royal Palms.
There is also evidence connecting them to Sealand Travel, the company that provides travel arrangements for Royal Palms, according to the lawsuit.
All Inclusive Excursions member services director Arnulfo Vasquez said the company, which has been the focus of customer complaints for Byzantine rules and restrictions it places on travel, is an independent entity. But the company’s listed address, a Kansas City post office box, is registered to Spensberger, and mail from that box is forwarded weekly to the address she shares with Bailey, according to the AG’s investigation.
A temporary restraining order was granted by Judge Lorraine Raggio March 17 to prevent the defendants from engaging in deceptive business practices. The state is seeking the return of money obtained through illegal practices, plus civil penalties of up to $250,000 per violation of state law.
Raggio will decide whether to grant a temporary injunction, which would extend the restraining order through the end of a trial, on March 30.
