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

In all 14 defendants have been sentenced for their role in a £28 million plot to cheat over 3,500 holiday ownership investors.

The targets were keen to terminate long-standing timeshare contracts and tried to find assistance.

A large number were from 60 and 80. Over 500 of them surrendered more than £10,000, and one individual transferred over £80,000.

Those targeted were exposed to high-pressure sales meetings lasting up to six hours. They were financially worse off, owning useless fake "rewards" and remained bound by high-priced holiday ownership agreements they could no longer use.

The Company At the Heart of the Deception

The company at the centre of the scam was the timeshare resale company. They took people's money to finance the proprietors' opulent lifestyle of exclusive education, millionaire mansions and private jets.

The man at the top of the company, Mark Rowe, was sentenced to a 90-month jail time in January for conspiracy to defraud.

In the latest development, his partner Nicola was part of the concluding cases to receive sentencing.

She received a two-year long deferred imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to money laundering.

It has been a lengthy process and represents a huge win for the victims who came forward, the law enforcement and the Crown.

The Way the Inquiry Was Initiated

The first knowledge of the firm emerged during the summer of 2016. I was working in the research department of a broadcasting service, creating investigative shows.

A acquaintance mentioned that his mum had taken over the rights of a timeshare apartment in Spain and, after long-term use, had begun looking to terminate the contract.

It is important to recall how common timeshares had evolved with UK travelers in the last decades of the 20th century.

Timeshares permitted individuals to use the equivalent unit annually, or swap their time slots with additional holders who had properties in different locations. Approximately 600,000 holiday enthusiasts seized that chance.

The early surge was accompanied by a many reports about unscrupulous sellers mis-selling properties. They became a staple on consumer broadcasts.

The standard holiday ownership agreement tied investors in for long periods.

By 2016, those holders who had enjoyed their assigned property in the resort for decades were getting older, and a large proportion were attempting to wave goodbye to their holiday properties.

A number had reduced ability to travel and couldn't get to their apartments. A few just believed they'd got all they wanted from them. And some had passed away, in many cases leaving their heirs to assume the agreements - plus their yearly fees and upkeep costs.

The Undercover Operation Progresses

It was at this point the family member had found herself. She looked online for answers and came across SMT, a firm whose digital platform assured to release her from her contract.

However, having paid a fee and arranged an appointment with them, her family smelled a rat.

Subsequent checking uncovered numerous individuals claiming they had handed over cash and achieved no result out of it. In fact, they had been left out of pocket. Substantial amounts.

Our team started looking into what was happening. It soon emerged that there were dubious individuals operating in the holiday ownership market.

A legal professional had many grievance cases aiming to litigate against the company.

We spoke to people who had engaged the company and they each reported similar experiences. They assumed the company would acquire their investment away from them but when they attended a meeting (for which they submitted funds initially) they were told there was no potential buyers.

In place of that, they were pushed - indeed coerced - to spend more money acquiring "the company's points system", named after the outfit's parent company, the parent organization.

The precise definition was rather ambiguous. They appeared to be a type of exchange medium, offering discount travel and benefits and retail offers.

And they were reportedly "tradable" with other owners, eventually.

Paying cash up front now would lead to an eventual payoff that would pay for the firm's costs and leave the property owner with a gain, liberated eventually from their troublesome deal.

An unbelievable offer? Well, yes.

A 'Deceptive Tactic'

Assuming these reports were true, this was a massive scam.

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

Someone - in this case the organization - "attracts the consumer by advertising a specific service but then to state it cannot be provided, directing the customer to an alternative, lesser option.

Such practices are unlawful. Armed with all the testimony we had collected, we argued to secretly film one of the firm's consultations.

The process requires dedication, work, and strong justifications for why this is the exclusive approach to obtain the evidence necessary to prove wrongdoing.

With approval secured, our compact group set up a appointment with one of the firm's agents in the location.

Pretending to be a member of the public hoping to get his mum free from her timeshare contract|holiday ownership agreement