Sheriff's Office Investigates Anchor Vacations

            Lt. Ronnie Segree of the Franklin County Sheriff's Department, investigating possible wrongdoing in the dissolution of Anchor Vacations LLC, said several homeowners have filed complaints against Jereme Neill, who has told the police he is the sole owner of the now-defunct vacation rental company.

On Sept. 26, owners of houses represented by Anchor Vacations received notice by email that the company was being dissolved. The company referred people to St. George Island Vacation Properties, which is negotiating with owners of properties previously managed by Anchor to represent them.

"I talked to Neill after receiving the first complaint," Segree said. "I thought maybe it was just a misunderstanding or a case of sloppy bookkeeping. We are now actively pursuing a warrant. This is an ongoing investigation and we are asking that people try to be patient. This is going to be a long complicated process that will require subpoenaing records and an in-depth investigation."

Since the company's dissolution, it has come to light that Franklin County Clerk of Courts records show Anchor Vacations' debts include nearly $220,000 in tax liens, two with the Internal Revenue Service and one with the Florida Department of Revenue.

For the tax period ending Sept. 30, 2007, Anchor Vacations owes the IRS $77,024, and for the tax period ending March 31, 2008, the firm owes the IRS $35,694. In a warrant issued in Feb. 2008, Anchor Vacations owed the state more than $107,104.

Anchor Vacations LLC was formed two years ago when Howard Wesson and Neill purchased the property management division of Anchor Realty at about the same time Anchor Realty became a Weichert Realty franchise.

The defunct company is not connected with Weichert/Anchor Realty and Wesson, sold his interest to Neill in June 2007.