Fake travel agent Lyne Barlow jailed for £1.6m holidays scamon February 3, 2023 at 3:46 pm

A bogus travel agent who conned hundreds of holidaymakers in a £1.6m scam has been jailed for nine years.

Lyne Barlow, 39, formerly of Stanley, County Durham, left more than 1,400 customers out of pocket when she failed to book trips between 2019 and 2020.

She admitted stealing £500,000 from one person, 10 counts of fraud and a money laundering charge involving £1.6m.

Durham Crown Court heard she also lied to clients about having terminal cancer while carrying out the fraud.

Unscrupulous Barlow initially preyed on her family and friends, plundering their savings to set up an independent travel agency in which she lured victims with the promise of market-beating deals.

She further deceived customers by telling them their bookings were protected by the Atol insurance scheme and she was a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).

News of her bargain holidays quickly spread on social media, seemingly endorsed by glowing reviews.

‘Untold damage’

However, many of those who took the bait were to find that their holidays had either not been paid for at all or only part of their booking had been made.

Some were confronted about the shortfalls while abroad and had to pay extra for their hotels and flights home.

Others turned up at airports to discover that they did not have seats on their flights or that their bookings had been cancelled because of non-payment.

Barlow would offer “too good to be true” deals such as a five star, all-inclusive week in Dubai for just £500, one local travel industry source said.

They told the Press Association: “She did much untold damage to local travel agents who simply could not compete at the unrealistic prices.

“We tried to tell numerous people it wasn’t right but as some people were travelling and getting the holidays at these prices – she was clearly funding the shortfall with other people’s money – they wouldn’t believe it.

“We even contacted her ourselves and tried to call her out but she wasn’t fazed in the least and actually tried to recruit us to work for her.”

As Barlow’s Ponzi-style scheme began to unravel she told some customers she was behind on bookings because she was having treatment for stage four cancer.

It is believed she cut off her hair to make it look like she was undergoing chemotherapy.

When victims began reporting the rip-off in September 2020 the stories began circulating on social media.

Soon Durham Police’s control room was overwhelmed by a torrent of calls from irate victims.

Police took the unusual step of directing complainants to an email address in a bid to prevent 999 calls from being delayed.

An investigation was launched which became one of the biggest fraud cases in the force’s history.

The court heard previously that the prosecution claimed the total of offending reached £2.6m, though the defence challenged that figure.

An ABTA spokesperson said cases like Barlow’s were “extremely rare” but urged people to check travel agents’ membership on the organisation’s website.

“Holidays can be a target for fraudsters which is why we encourage people to be vigilant,” they added.

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