Timeshare fraudster locked up

A TIMESHARE fraudster who conned holidaymakers into paying thousands of pounds for breaks in Spain and Portugal that didn’t exist has been jailed for 40 months.

Francis Madden, 61, had his staff cold-call hundreds of people a day, inviting them to a twohour presentation for holiday club companies.

Instead, his victims endured five hours of hard- sell techniques promising discounts on flights, accommodation and cruises. Some ‘exhausted’ participants were even escorted to cash machines to hand over their money.

Victims were told they could cancel their contracts during the cooling-off period.

But when they attempted to do so, they were denied.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard the accommodation offered was ‘virtually worthless’, as those who attempted to book breaks in Spain and Portugal typically found they were unable to do so, or there was limited availability.

Many of the breaks offered through Madden’s companies were cheaper on the open market.

Madden, from Bournemouth, Dorset, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraudulent trading from May 2012 to February 2016.