Travel agent who faked cancer and scammed 1,400 customers in multi-million-pound Ponzi scheme is jailed
3 February 2023, 19:51
A travel agent who pretended to have cancer and conned more than 1,000 customers out of over £1 million has been jailed.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Lyne Barlow, appearing at Durham Crown Court in October, pleaded guilty to several counts of fraud relating to loans, investments, and holiday sales, and a further charge of money laundering.
The fraud came to a total of about £2.6 million, causing a loss of over £1.2m. Barlow, 39, was sentenced to nine years in prison for her crimes on Friday.
She set up her own business in 2015, and fast gained a reputation of getting people holidays at the cheapest price available, with good notices on social media and many 5* reviews.
But Barlow was using websites that anyone could fine to look for a holiday, that she would then sell on to customers at big discounts.
She funded this by borrowing from family and friends, or getting bank loans.
She later used new bookings to pay for existing holidays - effectively a Ponzi scheme.
Often, she sold customers a holiday and they later found out that they were getting a much shorter trip, and often without return flights, which they only found out when they had reached their destination and were therefore left stranded.
Other holidaymakers found out at the airport that they did not have seats on the plane, or that their booking had been cancelled because she had not paid for it.
Barlow would also often promise to send booking confirmation details which failed to arrive, citing reasons such as delays from holiday companies.
Custody footage of travel agent sentenced to 9 years for fraud
In some cases, she told customers she was behind with her bookings because of her cancer treatment. She also tricked family members into taking her to fake hospital appointments and even left hair on the bed to make it look as though it was falling out. Barlow even told one customer it was "stage 3/4" and "it's in my bones".
Barlow also encouraged family and friends to “invest” their savings and pension pay outs, promising them that they would probably get a six-figure return.
Some of the money she did gain was used to fund her own lifestyle, which included foreign holidays, designer clothes and lavish parties.
The business crashed in September 2020.
Detective Sergeant Alan Meehan, of Durham Constabulary’s Economic Crime Unit, who led the investigation, said: “Fraud is a horrendous crime and Barlow’s actions were appalling.
“She made a conscious and deliberate decision to do what she did. There were points at which she could have put a stop to it all, but she carried on and now she is now paying the price for her actions.
“Sadly, so many people have been affected by what she did, lives have been changed forever and some will never be the same again.
“Not only did Barlow offer holidays she could not deliver, but she also took advantage of the generosity and understanding of those around her, which has resulted in such far-reaching consequences.
“She wanted a quality of life she could not afford, which resulted in her defrauding her family, friends, and even complete strangers.
“This is one of the biggest fraud cases Durham Constabulary has ever dealt with and I would like to again thank everyone who came forward for their patience and understanding while we carried out what was a thorough but lengthy investigation.”
James Lewis, specialist fraud prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Barlow acted with greed, using false promises and deceptive lies, to convince family and friends, as well as hundreds of customers, who all trusted her, to part with their money so that she could sustain her own lavish lifestyle.
“Fraud is an insidious crime and the cost to the many victims in this case has not just been financial; it has also caused huge emotional distress and extreme disappointment to devastated customers who had to find out their holiday did not actually exist at a time when the country was in the grips of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Thanks to the thorough investigation by Durham Police and to all the victims who came forward to report her, we were able to bring Barlow to justice.
“We will now be taking steps to recover this money taken through Proceeds of Crime.”
