Ruthless £28m timeshare fraud robbed elderly of savings
Ruthless £28m timeshare fraud robbed elderly of savings
A man duped out of £14,000 has said those responsible are "scum", as the shocking scale of a £28m timeshare fraud involving more than 3,500 victims is revealed.
Fourteen people, including managing director Mark Rowe and his wife Nicola, have been convicted over the scheme which operated under the Sell My Timeshare brand.
The couple, both 54 and from Hampshire, bankrolled a lavish lifestyle by exploiting vulnerable victims - many in their 70s and 80s - who were desperate to sell their holiday homes.
Des, 73, from south London, told the BBC the moment he realised he had lost thousands felt "like a kick in the guts" - a devastating setback that forced him to delay his retirement.
The "elaborate" and "complex" fraud, which began in 2013, is thought to be one of the biggest conspiracies of its kind in the UK.
Timeshares usually involve paying a one-off lump sum, plus annual maintenance fees, in return for being able to use a property for an agreed number of weeks each year, every year for life.
Predominantly in the 1980s and 1990s, timeshares were marketed as holidays without the hassle, and many investors were told they would increase in value and be easy to get out of, whenever they wanted.
As owners aged or suffered failing health, many found they could no longer use the homes or afford the rising maintenance payments and wanted to dispose of them.
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