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It has been described as one of the largest scams of its type in the UK.

Altogether 14 individuals have been convicted for their involvement in a multi-million pound scheme to swindle more than 3,500 vacation property holders.

The affected individuals were eager to get out of long-standing timeshare contracts and sought out assistance.

The majority were from 60 and 80. Over 500 of them parted with over £10,000, and one individual handed over in excess of £80,000.

Those targeted were subjected to intense sales meetings extending for six hours. They were financially worse off, owning valueless fake "credits" and still locked into costly timeshare contracts they often use.

The Firm Central to the Fraud

The business at the core of the fraud was Sell My Timeshare (SMT). They took people's money to fund the directors' lavish way of life of exclusive education, millionaire mansions and private jets.

The individual at the helm of the company, the main defendant, was sentenced to a seven-and-half year jail time in January for fraudulent conspiracy.

On Friday, his spouse Nicola was one of the final three to learn their fate.

She was handed a 24-month suspended jail sentence at Southwark Crown Court after confessing to money laundering.

It has been a lengthy process and represents a major victory for the individuals who testified, the police and prosecutors.

The Way the Probe Began

I first heard about the company came in the that particular year. The position was in the investigations unit of a media outlet, producing investigative features.

A friend noted that his mum had taken over the ownership of a vacation unit in Spain and, after years of holidays, had begun looking to terminate the contract.

It's worth mentioning how common timeshares had become with British holidaymakers in the last decades of the 20th century.

Holiday ownership allowed families to access the identical property annually, or trade their vacation periods with fellow investors who had apartments in alternative destinations. Approximately 600,000 holiday enthusiasts accepted that opportunity.

The first timeshare rush was accompanied by a many reports about unscrupulous sellers fraudulently marketing units. They became a staple on public interest shows.

The standard timeshare contract tied investors in for decades.

In that period, those owners who had used their regular accommodation in the resort for a long time were getting older, and a significant number were hoping to wave goodbye to their timeshares.

Several had reduced ability to travel and couldn't get to their apartments. Some just believed they'd enjoyed sufficient use from them. And some had deceased, in frequent situations passing on their heirs to inherit the deals - plus their regular contributions and service charges.

The Investigation Develops

This was the situation the relative had found herself. She browsed the internet for solutions and discovered SMT, a business whose website promised to release her from her contract.

But, having made a payment and arranged an appointment with them, her loved ones became suspicious.

Additional investigation revealed many victims reporting they had submitted funds and received no benefit in return. Actually, they had lost money. Significant sums.

Our team started looking into what was happening. It was rapidly apparent that there were questionable operators working within the timeshare resale sector.

One lawyer had numerous client reports preparing to take action against the organization.

Reporters contacted individuals who had dealt with the organization and they each reported similar experiences. They thought the firm would acquire their investment away from them but when they participated in a session (for which they made an advance payment) they were told there was no potential buyers.

Rather, they were encouraged - indeed coerced - to spend more money investing in "the firm's incentive scheme", named after the business's umbrella group, Monster Travel.

The precise definition was rather ambiguous. They sounded like a form of credit, offering discount travel and services and shopping deals.

And they were seemingly "transferable with fellow investors, eventually.

Committing funds up front now would produce an eventual payoff that would cover SMT's fees and leave the property owner with a gain, liberated eventually from their pesky contract.

An unbelievable offer? Certainly, that proved correct.

A 'Bait-and-Switch Scam'

Assuming these reports were true, this was a major deception.

This is known as a "bait-and-switch."

Someone - in this case the organization - "attracts the client by promoting a particular product but then to state it cannot be provided, steering the client to an alternative, lesser option.

Such practices are unlawful. Possessing all the testimony we had assembled, we presented the rationale to discreetly video one of the firm's consultations.

This takes time, effort, and strong justifications for why this is the exclusive approach to obtain the data needed to prove wrongdoing.

Once authorized, our small team set up a appointment with one of the firm's agents in the location.

Pretending to be a ordinary individual aiming to get his mum out of her timeshare contract|holiday ownership agreement