Mark and Nicola Rowe spent proceeds of a holiday investment scam on £31,500 LS Lowry art, £110,000 on private school fees and more than £2million on a house with stables
A husband and wife spent £31,500 on a sketch by LS Lowry from the proceeds of a holiday investment scam that defrauded more than 3,000 people out of £28million.
Mark and Nicola Rowe also splashed out more than £110,000 on private school fees, £2.4million on a house in Hampshire with stables, and £26,000 on one private jet trip to Tenerife. A total of £8million was paid into their bank account, with £185,000 spent on art, including the sketch by Salford-born Lowry, celebrated for his depictions of working class life in northern England.
Nearly 500 victims lost more than £10,000 and the “vast majority” were aged between 60 and 80, with some in their 90s. One said: “I’m now supposed to be retired and enjoying life, but as a result of being a victim of Mark Rowe’s fraud my quality of life has been reduced to a struggle – I’m unable to afford to even pay my own rent.
“I’ve been a successful businessman all of my life, but feel that I’ve let my wife down, and I cannot see how I can put this right in the time that we have left.”
The Rowes, both 54, operated under the brand Sell My Timeshare (SMT) and targeted owners desperate to relinquish their properties. Investigators said Mark Rowe “put victims up in hotels” and “created fake virtual offices and fake personas” as part of the fraud, with 14 scammers being convicted of various offences under Operation Destin.
After being lured to meetings at SMT’s Bournemouth, York, Stratford-upon-Avon or Tenerife-based offices under the premise of selling their timeshares, victims “endured high-pressure sales meetings, which often lasted up to six hours”, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
They were pushed to trade in their timeshares and make an additional payment for the company’s “Monster Credits” scheme, which promised discounts on holidays and shopping. In many cases, victims took out loans to purchase the credits, typically investing around £8,000, the CPS said.
They would later discover that not only were the credits worthless, but in most cases, they still owned and incurred the costs of their timeshares. In total, 3,583 victims across the UK were defrauded out of £28.1million, with the highest individual loss being £80,000.
Senior investigating officer Peter Highway said a “lot of the money was spent on luxury” by managing director Rowe and his wife, the company’s finance director. Mr Highway, from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “The fact so many people were defrauded in this case reflects the lengths Mark Rowe went to both to lure victims to meetings with his criminal sales team and continually invent new methods to deceive them.”
CPS specialist prosecutor Gayle Ramsey said: “These defendants acted in a completely selfish and manipulative manner to make huge sums for themselves and exploited timeshare owners, many of whom were elderly.” Rowe, of Los Blanquitos in Tenerife, was sentenced in January to seven-and-a-half years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud.
His wife will be sentenced on Friday at Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to money laundering. A total of 14 people were convicted following four trials held over two years – with reporting restrictions in place until Nicola Rowe’s guilty plea.
Jodi Beard, 43, of El Roque, Tenerife, got a suspended two years’ jail term, Paul Harrison, 55, of Weymouth, was jailed for four-and-a-half years. Also found guilty of conspiracy to defraud were Nihat Paul Salih, 57, of Poole, Dorset, jailed for three years and Lisa Salih, 56, of Poole, who was given a suspended sentence.
Samantha Macaulay, 52, of Tenerife, was given a suspended sentence after being found guilty of fraud. Simon Walker, 58, was jailed for four-and-a-half years and Joanne Physick, 46, both of Tenerife, got two-and-a-half years in jail after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud.
David Taylor, 65, of East Yorkshire, was sentenced to three years and Joanne Taylor, 53, of East Yorkshire, was given a suspended sentence and Lee Evans, 51, of Preston, after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation. Barrie Fox, 69, of Worcester, and Josephine Cuthill-Fox, 60, of Worcester, will also be sentenced on Friday after also pleading guilty to fraud by false representation.
