Travel agent jailed for defrauding customers to fund lavish lifestyle
A travel agent who stole money from friends, family and hundreds of members of the public who bought holidays from her, has today been jailed.
Lyne Barlow, aged 39, formerly of Stanley, County Durham, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment at Durham Crown Court on 3 February 2023.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the theft of £500,000, 10 counts of fraud and money laundering totalling more than £1.2 million. The CPS authorised the charges against Barlow following a detailed investigation by Durham Police.
Barlow sold heavily discounted holidays that she advertised on her Facebook page, convinced family and friends to loan her money under false pretences and stole half a million pounds from her mother.
In November 2019, after Barlow was fired from a travel company, she set up her own independent travel agency on Facebook. Through this page she advertised holiday packages to customers for less than full price with discounts.
Barlow assured customers that she could be trusted by falsely claiming that she was ATOL and ABTA protected. She then convinced customers to part with their money by telling them that if they did not pay her immediately, they would risk losing the generous discount.