18 people charged by UK police in connection with large-scale fraud against timeshare owners

The UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced that it has authorised the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SW ROCU) to charge 18 people with 79 counts related to large-scale fraud targeting timeshare owners.

This follows a lengthy investigation into businesses in the UK and Spain and the directors and employees of companies including Monster Group Travel, Monster Rewards and sellmytimeshare.com.

The 18 named by the CPS are:

Mark Rowe

Nicola Rowe

Simon Walker

Jodi Beard

Louise Oakenfold-Matthews

Samantha Jackson

Joanne Physick

Deborah Frost

Ian Frost

Paul Harrison

Paul Fowler

Paul Salih

Lisa Salih

Joanne Cuthill-Fox

Barrie Fox

Joanne Taylor

David Taylor

Lee Evans

Full details of the CPS announcement, including the charges being brought, can be found hier.

Crime Prevention Advice

The police have also released the following advice.

“Unfortunately we anticipate that this good news is likely to be exploited by fraudsters looking to capitalise on any opportunity to make money. Our advice continues to be ‘do not engage with Third Party Cold Callers’. Most of the information they have is inaccurate / misleading / false. The services they offer are worthless and it is possible that they have obtained your personal information illegally.  We would ask that if you do receive unwanted contact of this nature, please obtain the name(s) of the people / companies involved and keep us informed.”

If you are a consumer affected by these issues and are not currently in contact with the police, please contact KwikChex through the Timeshare-Task-Force and we will help you connect and report.

Timeshare owners in general are frequently pestered by cold callers and often become the victims of scams. KwikChex has published advice that will help owners deal with this problem, whilst ensuring they have access to information on their legal rights and available options.  The Stop & Check advice can be found hier.

UK Action Fraud also publishes advice for timeshare owners, which can be found hier.