A WORCESTER man has been jailed for his part in a 'deliberate and cynical' campaign of timeshare fraud, following an investigation by Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police Fraud Squad.

Steven Cross, 37, of Bath Close, Worcester was one of nine people charged with conspiracy to defraud and sentenced to six months in prison.

Cross turned whistleblower after falling out with a fellow defendant in 2014, passing on information to the police, which saw his sentence lower than his fellow defendants. 

Subsequently police recovered details of numerous bank accounts and material on laptops and mobile phones.

He was involved in relentless cold calls helping the group of nine to bring in more than £800,000 from hundreds of unsuspecting timeshare owners.

At least 10 bogus businesses were set up as a front to cover the timeshare re-sale scam to target elderly and vulnerable owners.

The frauds were committed between 2012 and 2015, and often targeted vulnerable people such as the elderly and those in poor health. In many cases, a three-part scam took place.

In the first part of the scam, victims were cold-called by members of the group and falsely told that prospective buyers had been found for their timeshare properties, most of which are in Spain. Advance 'sale fees' were sought by the fraudsters to support the fake transactions.

Further attempts to gain yet more money were then made under the pretence that 'sales had fallen through' and needed more funding.

In the second part, the fraudsters adopted different names and company names to contact those who had lost money.

They then made false offers of further schemes and transactions to help the victims mitigate their losses.

And in the third part, the group contacted victims and pretended to be from the Spanish authorities. They stated that the funds would be returned to the victims' bank accounts for an up-front fee.

To facilitate the frauds, the group set up more than 10 limited companies (both in the UK and abroad), with offices in the West Midlands, staff, bank accounts, and the means to process card payments.

Judge Jonathan Gosling said the fraud was 'deliberate and sustained' and a great deal of work was put in to set up the scam.

Offices were rented, initially in Norwich, and later in Redditch and Bromsgrove, telephone and merchant chip and pin payment facilities were established, numerous bank accounts were opened and letter headings in the name of the 'convincing sounding' companies were produced - all using false details.

"It was a calculated and cynical fraud and was carefully planned to ensnare the victims without them becoming suspicious," said Judge Gosling

He said there were no buyers and the victims were left 'angry and devastated' having lost their money.

"The cynicism was boundless as many victims were approached and fleeced a second time and, in a few cases, a third time," he said.

The total value of the funds fraudulently obtained by the group is more than £875,000, comprising payments from around 470 individuals.

All defendants will now face proceedings to recover the funds stolen, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Detective inspector Emma Wright of Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police economic crime unit said: "This has been a long and complex investigation and I am pleased that the offenders have been brought before the courts this week to receive custodial sentences.

"These scammers targeted some of the most vulnerable people in our society in a deliberate and cynical campaign of fraud.

"Their scheme had devastating consequences on the victims - not just financially but emotionally too.

"Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police remain committed to bringing to justice those who commit fraud and financial crime."

Cross and eight other defendants, including four from Redditch and one from Bromsgrove were sentenced at Stafford Crown Court on Friday February 23.

The other defendants had sentences of between eight months and six years and seven months.