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It has been described as a major frauds of its nature in the UK.

In all 14 defendants have been convicted for their role in a £28m scheme to defraud over 3,500 timeshare holders.

The victims were keen to exit decades-old timeshare contracts and sought out support.

A large number were in the age range of 60 and 80. In excess of 500 of them surrendered over £10,000, and one handed over over £80,000.

Those targeted were faced high-pressure presentations continuing for six hours. They were out of money, holding valueless fake "points" and continued to be bound by expensive vacation property deals they could no longer use.

The Firm At the Heart of the Scam

The firm at the heart of the scam was Sell My Timeshare (SMT). They took customers' funds to fund the owners' opulent lifestyle of prestigious schooling, high-end properties and exclusive air travel.

The individual at the helm of the organization, Mark Rowe, was sentenced to a seven-and-half year prison term in January for conspiracy to defraud.

Recently, his wife another individual was among the last group to hear their sentences.

She was given a two-year long deferred imprisonment at the judicial venue after pleading guilty to illegal fund handling.

The outcome represents a extended wait and marks a significant success for the victims who came forward, the authorities and prosecutors.

How the Probe Started

The initial awareness of SMT was in the mid-2016. I was working in the investigations unit of a broadcasting service, producing documentary features.

A friend mentioned that his mum had inherited the ownership of a vacation unit in the Spanish coast and, after decades of vacations, had started seeking to exit the agreement.

It is important to recall how popular vacation properties had become with British holidaymakers in the eighties and nineties.

Vacation properties allowed individuals to access the equivalent unit annually, or swap their time slots with fellow investors who had units in other resorts. Roughly 600,000 vacation seekers took up that option.

The initial boom was accompanied by a lot of stories about unscrupulous sellers fraudulently marketing investments. They were regularly featured on consumer broadcasts.

The standard timeshare contract locked buyers for decades.

In that period, those holders who had used their guaranteed place in the sunshine for 20 or 30 years were getting older, and a large proportion were looking to say farewell to their vacation investments.

A number had reduced ability to travel and were unable to visit their apartments. Others just thought they'd achieved their goals from them. And some had died, in numerous instances leaving their family members to take over the deals - along with their annual payments and maintenance fees.

The Investigation Progresses

And that's where the relative had found herself. She searched the web for options and came across the organization, a enterprise whose online presence assured to get her out of her deal.

However, having submitted funds and arranged an appointment with them, her loved ones smelled a rat.

Further research revealed many victims reporting they had handed over cash and achieved no result out of it. Indeed, they had lost money. Significant sums.

Our team commenced probing what was occurring. It was rapidly apparent that there were dubious individuals operating in the timeshare resale sector.

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

Reporters contacted individuals who had dealt with the organization and they all told the same story. They believed the business would purchase their timeshare away from them but when they participated in a session (for which they submitted funds initially) they were told there was no market for their property.

Instead, they were encouraged - indeed pressured - to invest additional funds acquiring "Monster Rewards", linked to the organization's holding firm, Monster Travel.

The nature of these rewards was rather ambiguous. They appeared to be a form of credit, giving access to discount travel and amenities and retail offers.

And they were apparently "tradable" with other owners, at a future date.

Paying cash at the time would result in an future return that would cover the company's charges and leave the timeshare holder ahead financially, liberated eventually from their pesky deal.

An unrealistic promise? Well, yes.

A 'Deceptive Scheme'

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

The technique is termed a "bait-and-switch."

Someone - in this case the organization - "baits" the consumer by advertising a defined offering but then to say that's not available, directing the individual to an alternative, lesser option.

Such practices are unlawful. Equipped with all the evidence we had collected, we made the case to secretly film one of the firm's consultations.

Such an operation demands dedication, work, and strong justifications for why this is the exclusive approach to collect the data needed to prove wrongdoing.

Armed with that permission, our compact group set up a meeting with one of the organization's staff in the English town.

Pretending to be a potential client aiming to assist his parent out of her timeshare contract|holiday ownership agreement