Fraudulent agent gets jail term
ABTA says a prison sentence imposed on a fraudulent travel agent claiming to be a member will serve as a stark warning to other con artists.
Lisa Varley, 38, originally from Norfolk, received a 15-month prison sentence at Norwich Crown Court after admitting 13 offences of fraud and deception relating to three travel companies.
One of the companies, Premier Dubai, failed financially in 2001 and it emerged Varley had misrepresented the business as having consumer protection under the ABTA and ATOL schemes.
After the collapse of Premier Dubai, which saw more than 100 people lose holidays they had paid for, Varley set up Simple East, which failed in 2002 leaving 70 clients out of pocket.
Varley, a mother of two, was then involved with Hotels Worldwide Direct, where she falsified documents to cover money taken for personal debts unbeknown to the company.
ABTA chief executive Ian Reynolds said: “Premier Dubai intentionally set out to mislead its customers and left many considerably out of pocket. We are pleased to see that in this instance the police and courts have treated this matter with the severity it demanded. This judgement sends out a loud and clear message to any others tempted to try the same trick.”
ABTA said it thought this was the first time a prison sentence has been imposed for fraud by a travel agent.
Detective Constable Chris Gay of the Norfolk Constabulary fraud squad said Varley’s activities had included taking deposits or payments in full from customers and then failing to provide a deposit refund or goods paid for.
He said it was unclear how much money Varley had obtained from fraudulent activities, but it was unlikely customers could get their money back unless they had paid with a credit card.