Woman pleads guilty for invalid booking in Wisconsin Dells

MILWAUKEE - "I shouldn’t have taken the money." That’s what one woman told an Outagamie County judge about her business booking rooms in the Wisconsin Dells.  Customers tell Contact 6 their rooms were unavailable and their refunds hard to get.

Chique Rodriguez in Racine has visited the Wisconsin Dells a few times. His last trip in December was for a special occasion.

"It was for my birthday," said Rodriguez. "Friends, family and everybody could come together basically in the Dells."

Through a Facebook page called Wisconsin Dells Condo Deals, Rodriguez says he got a great deal: $675 for three nights at Club Wyndham Glacier Canyon. He made the booking over Facebook Messenger and paid for the room via CashApp.

"It was supposed to be a big, four-bedroom presidential suite," said Rodriguez.

On the day of his reservation, Rodriguez says he spoke with the front desk and made a startling discovery.

"There was no reservation," said Rodriguez. "Condo owners are not even supposed to be on Facebook advertising."

Rodriguez used a Facebook page that rents out condos for Club Wyndham Glacier Canyon timeshare owners. It does so without Club Wyndham Glacier Canyon’s knowledge or approval. That means the page can’t actually guarantee the rooms it books are available.

"I was like, livid. Almost to the point where I could cry," said Rodriguez.

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The Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin (BBB) has 65 complaints about the page’s operator, Colleen Wogernese-Jesberger, in the last three years. The complaints aren’t just about Wisconsin Dells Condo Deals. The BBB has complaints about Wogernese-Jesberger’s other Facebook pages: Destination Vacation, Kate Deals and Dani Deals.

"We are trying to alert as many consumers as possible about the past operations of this company," said Jim Temmer, President of the BBB Serving Wisconsin. "People aren’t getting refunds and the company is being non-communicative."

Contact 6 reported on another family’s bad experience with Destination Vacation in August 2023. https://www.fox6now.com/news/wisconsin-dells-vacation-ruined-facebook-travel-agent

A Facebook page devoted to scams in the Wisconsin Dells is filled with stories about Wogernese-Jesberger. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection has 42 complaints about her vacation rentals in the last 3-4 years.

On Oct. 8, Wogernese-Jesberger appeared in Outagamie County Court and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft and false representation in connection to her Facebook pages.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) tells Contact 6, "DOJ’s Division of Criminal Investigation is assisting in the investigation."

Bridget Lorenz is at the center of the Outagamie County case. Lorenz and her extended family paid more $1,000 for a 2024 "President’s Day Weekend" at Club Wyndham Glacier Canyon. She used the same Wisconsin Dells Condo Deals Facebook page as Rodriguez.

Lorenz says two days before her trip, Wogernese-Jesberger told her the booking wasn’t valid.

"She told us we would get a refund in two days. Then…maybe in two weeks," said Lorenz. "(There was) always something else. It’s like, "Ok, are we ever gonna get our money back?"

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Wogernese-Jesberger did refund Lorenz just before her sentencing. Judge Mark McGinnis criticized the timing of her payment in court.

"It seems self-serving. It helps you. Your back was sort-of against the wall," said McGinnis.

McGinnis asked Wogernese-Jesberger to explain why Lorenz’s booking wasn’t valid. Wogernese said Wyndham timeshare controls when rooms aren’t available.

"Wyndham changed their rules and said owners couldn’t let guests use the condos on weekends any longer," said Wogernese-Jesberger.

McGinnis said it sounded like she was trying to minimize her responsibility and called the case "troubling."

"There wasn’t any effort by you to apologize," said McGinnis. "I’m not sure why you lack the ability or courage to do that."

Wogernese-Jesberger told McGinnis that she had learned her lesson. Her attorney, Amanda Skorr, said her client no longer books rooms in the Wisconsin Dells and had a job teaching special education.

"I do feel sorry. I feel awful that I ruined their vacation. That was not my intent, ever," said Wogernese-Jesberger.

McGinnis pressed Wogernese-Jesberger on the lesson she’d learned.

"That I should never have probably started doing this to begin with," replied Wogernese-Jesberger.

"Hold on a second," McGinnis interrupted. "You’re just the manipulator. You started by saying, "well, probably this." You said to me you had learned your lesson. It shouldn’t be a "probably.""

"I shouldn’t have taken the money unless I was 100 percent sure they were gonna get a condo," responded Wogernese-Jesberger. "When I knew it wasn’t (valid), I should have returned (the money) before anything else including my own personal issues and bills and finances."

McGinnis sentenced her to ten days in jail followed by probation. She was released from jail one week later.

As deputies booked Wogernese-Jesberger into the county jail, a DOJ agent who attended the hearing emailed the court. In the email, he accused Wogernese-Jesberger of fraud by using a free public defender when she doesn’t need one.

"I know that she has significant income from various means," wrote the agent. "I was shocked to find she was being represented at public expense… I am making a formal notification of fraud to the (State Public Defenders) office…"

On Oct. 1, a second case of misdemeanor Theft-False Representation was filed against Wogernese-Jesberger in Pierce County. According to the criminal complaint, a woman paid $850 for a room through Wisconsin Dells Condo Deals. She called the resort nine days before her visit and was told there was "no reservation for her."

The woman requested a refund but said she hadn’t gotten one.

Rodriguez says he’s been waiting for his refund for ten months. He found a smaller room in the Wisconsin Dells for his birthday weekend.

"I couldn’t even enjoy my stay up there. I was just thinking about the money I lost," said Rodriguez. "I’m glad it’s coming to light and justice is getting her."

Wogernese-Jesberger used to live in Appleton but moved to Grayslake, Illinois.

Club Wyndham Glacier Canyon is a part of Travel + Leisure. In 2023, a spokesperson old Contact 6 that "people doing business with any online websites should ensure the party they’re purchasing from has the ability to facilitate the transaction and will guarantee the consumer gets what they paid for."

For Club Wyndham, that’s ExtraHolidays.com.

In the Wisconsin Dells, Club Wyndham Glacier Canyon is adjacent to the Glacier Canyon Lodge on the Wilderness Resort. Its guests get access to Wildness Resort amenities including its waterparks, however, the two are separately owned and operated.

If you have a consumer complaint and want to see if Contact 6 can help, call 414-586-2666 or submit a complaint form.