SCAM www.sunmedresorts.com SCAM

[mrhisted2001]

Would have been nice to be contacted and kept up to date on this by the police but then again doesn't surprise me

Was reading about this and someone (a Lord!) got scammed by these people, TWICE!

Here's the link:

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/ ... -case.html

Don't need the likes of 'us' in court when they have him.

[k_shelton]

lol! Poor guy! But at leats he got his money back unlike some - to be fair to the police - there are thousands of us - they couldnt contact us all to give us updates especially when there is nothing really to say at the moment...

[k_shelton]

D Day Looms!

Just got word from one of the inspectors involved in the case!

The link below is to news and phots around the case....

http://www.ttglive.com/c/portal/layout? ... PI_SHARED_
ImageArticleId=375070&CMPI_SHARED_articleIdRelated=375070&CMPI_SHARED_
ToolsArticleId=375070&CMPI_SHARED_CommentArticleId=375070

The judge is summing up today and the jury should be sent out later today or tomorrow.

Apparently there is a lot of media interest so it might make the national news if it is a guilty verdict. If you don't hear anything in the next few days on here, have a search online!

[k_shelton]

CONVICTED!!!!!!!!

(from ttglive.com/news)


The jury in the trial of three people accused of defrauding millions of pounds out of would-be holidaymakers has returned a guilty verdict.

Christakis Philippou, 64, of Bark Place, Bayswater; Evangelia Liogka, 40, of Montpelier Place, Knightsbridge; and Timothy Entwisle, 57, of Lulworth, Dorset all denied five charges of conspiracy to defraud relating to five separate companies that operated between July 2003 and August 2006.

At the end of the six-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, the jury, after deliberating for less than a day, delivered guilty verdicts on all three, with only Liogka being found not guilty on one count.


The judge will make a decision on bail later today and the three convicted of the offences will be sentenced on April 17.

The trial centred on the activities of five travel agencies: Ciao Travel, which traded as Sun; Sun Orient, which traded as sunmedresorts.com; Grayrise Associates, which traded as Elite Travel; Orange Sun, which traded as holidyas4under200pounds.com; and Onshine Ltd, which traded as Sunsplash.

The court was told all five were set up and took bookings before they went out of business, leaving thousands of holidaymakers out of pocket and the CAA, Abta and credit card companies to pick up the bill.

[k_shelton]

From BBC News website:

Gang found guilty of holiday scam
A gang who cheated about 12,000 people in a holiday booking scam have been convicted of five counts of conspiracy to defraud by a jury.
Evangela Liogka and Christakis Philippou, both of west London, and Timothy Entwistle, of Dorset, had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Peter Kemp, of Goffs Oak, Cheshunt, had earlier admitted to the same charges.

The gang set up 26 "front" firms and offered "bargain breaks" only to shut the agencies after bookings were made.

Southwark Crown Court heard the group operated seasonally between July 2003 and August 2006 and earned �7m from just five of their non-existent companies.

Liogka was convicted of four of the charges and cleared on one.

'Illegal immigrants'

The firms operated online and through Teletext and would advertise "cut price and very attractive deals".

The court heard police interviewed 400 witnesses during their 15-month investigation.

Prosecutor Martin Edmunds QC told the court Philippou, 64, of Bark Place, Bayswater, was at the "centre of the action" and was helped by his partner Liogka, 40, from Montpelier Place, Knightsbridge, who was "effectively overseeing" the agencies' call centres.


Entwistle, 57, from Ludworth in Dorset, who is a trained accountant, handled the financial aspects of the business and helped start the companies.

Kemp, 52, managed the businesses for the gang.

The court has already frozen assets which run into millions and Judge Andrew Goymer warned of further "lengthy" confiscation proceedings.

The court heard among the victims was John Reynolds, the former Lord Provost of Aberdeen and a senior official with the local tourist board who was "twice bitten" losing more than �3,000.

Martin Roxburgh, 50, and his wife, of Portsmouth, landed in Cyprus and were branded "illegal immigrants" when their hotel booking did not show up.

The five companies involved were Ciao Travel Ltd, Onshine Ltd, Grayrise Associates Ltd, Orange Sun Ltd and Sun Orient Ltd.

The money earned through customer bookings by two of these firms allegedly ended up in bank accounts in Cyprus, Greece and Spain, the court heard.

The Association of British Travel Agents, the Civil Aviation Authority and Teletext welcomed the verdicts.

All four fraudsters will be sentenced on 17 April.





Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/e ... 265603.stm

Published: 2008/02/26 19:53:36 GMT

[ritad]

Hi all, so happy to see the result of the trial. Hopefully these fraudsters will get a lenghty sentence. They caused so many problems for a lot of people.

Maybe now the ones who paid by cheque (myself included. having lost �3.300) stand a chance of having their money returned. Here's hoping!

[k_shelton]

I was sent these very detailed media reports from one of the police investigators - i cant find the source of this, or I would have just posted the linl. It takes about ten minutes to read but makes very intersting reading. This reporter was apprently in court every day. It answers some questions about seized assets too.

Also for info - the sentencing date is 17th April.


FRAUDSTERS FACE JAIL OVER BARGAIN HOLIDAY MISERY
By Melvyn Howe, PA
COURTS Holiday 26 Feb 2008 - 16:46
Page 1
Four fraudsters were facing jail today after making millions from the
misery of would-be holidaymakers across Britain.
With the help of the largest "bargain break" scam of its kind in the
country, they wallowed in a luxury life of plush homes, fast cars,
designer clothes and real, no-expense-spared vacations.
But while they enjoyed themselves, thousands of victims were left
counting an often heavy emotional and financial cost.
Honeymooners, pensioners and families with young children, who booked
online or through a TV text service, had to contend with the shock of
companies disappearing overnight with their hard-earned cash.
Even worse off were those who actually arrived at overseas hotels only
to find they had no reservations.
London's Southwark Crown Court heard some managed to find temporary
accommodation after a desperate late night hunt with tired children and
heavy luggage in tow.
Others ended up having to spend the night on beaches with their
suitcases.
Some were stranded for up to 72 hours and ended up paying hundreds of
pounds for somewhere to stay and then even more money for overcrowded
flights home.
One couple, who landed in Cyprus, were even branded "illegal immigrants"
because they were in breach of local laws stipulating they could not
land without accommodation.
Another victim was John Reynolds, the former Lord Provost of Aberdeen
and a leading local tourist board official, who ended up "twice bitten"
after booking two non-existent holidays in successive years with
different companies operated by the gang.
As horror stories unfolded by the thousand, police, travel industry
officials and credit card companies were left trying to pick up the
pieces.
Again and again investigators were faced with hurriedly "abandoned"
offices - often just before a bank holiday - and bewildered call centre
staff.
By then the architects of so many nightmares has disappeared with huge
sums taken in bookings and later squirreled away in accounts over here
and in Cyprus, Greece and Spain.
Weeks later, new travel agencies would rise behind a trademark
smokescreen of names, fresh premises, the same old promises, and yet
another batch of "clean skin" nominee directors, many of them
conveniently based abroad.
Although police identified 26 "front" operations during a 15-month
police investigation, interviewed 400 witnesses and ended up with 18,000
pages of evidence, the court case centred on a more manageable five
"vehicles for fraud".
However, even they involved losses of up to �7m - most eventually
refunded either by card companies, the Association of British Travel
Agencies - and an estimated 12,000 victims.
Police accept the total cost, both in human and financial terms, is
clearly much higher.
So far court orders have frozen assets worth well into seven figures.
More are expected.
In the dock were Greek Cypriots Evangelia Liogka, 40, of Montpelier
Place, Knightsbridge, Christakis Philippou, 64, from Bark Place,
Bayswater, central London, and British national Timothy Entwisle, 57, of
Childcombe, near Bridport, Dorset.
Each spent several days in the witness box vehemently protesting their
innocence.
They claimed like their long-suffering customers, they, too, were
innocent dupes, but of co-defendant and self-confessed conman Peter
Kemp, and two others who are now dead.
In fact Kemp, who is believed to have made some �200,000 from the scam,
was probably bottom of the gang's hierarchical ladder.
But the seven man, five woman jury took just two-and-a-half hours to
convict Philippou and Entwisle of five counts of conspiracy to defraud
between July 2003 and August 2006.
Liogka, who burst into tears as she heard the unanimous verdicts against
her, was found guilty on four of the charges and cleared on one.
Judge Andrew Goymer adjourned sentencing until April 17, when Kemp, 57,
of Goffs Oak, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire - who admitted all the
charges - will also be dealt with.
He said "lengthy" confiscation proceedings would be held later in the
year once "significant assets abroad" had been tracked down.
The judge added he expected to decide later this afternoon whether the
trio can remain on bail.
The five London-based travel agencies featured in the trial were Ciao
Travel Ltd, Onshine Ltd, Grayrise Associates Ltd, Orange Sun Ltd and Sun
Orient Ltd. Three operated through Teletext adverts, the others online.
Martin Edmunds, QC, prosecuting, told the five-week trial some were set
up especially for fraud, while others had begun life as legitimate
operations before being taken over. In any event none "had any intention
of providing the bulk of holidays that were booked".
The barrister explained the frauds ran seasonally and started just
before spring. As the height of the holiday period approached bookings
would come in "thick and fast".
To begin with they would trade normally, with unsuspecting staff passing
customer's details to supervisors, who, in turn, channelled them to the
gang's administrative headquarters in Dover Street.
The company would then stop "fulfilling holidays", increase advertising
and start dropping prices until they became almost embarrassingly cheap.
Come the next bank holiday - usually August - the gang would shut up
shop and disappear.
"The bulk of customers would not get their holidays," counsel explained.
"Essentially, the defendants moved from company to company for a number
of years although each one played different parts in what happened."
He told the jury Kemp, head of a "legit" travel agency, used his
contacts in the industry to identify the best companies to buy for the
scam.
Philippou - who had previous convictions for theft and fraudulent
trading involving two holiday companies in 1988 - was at the "centre of
the action".
He provided start-up funds for the various travel agencies and dealt
with the millions flooding in.
Eight years ago Teletext banned him from using the service. Undeterred,
he and some of his fellow conspirators reinvented themselves with a more
sophisticated operation and returned to "work".
Liogka, his lover of 10 years and the mother of their young daughter,
became "progressively more involved" and was another key figure.
From accountant Entwisle, an undischarged bankrupt, came the necessary
expertise to set up companies and arrange credit card payment processes.
The gang's life of crime paid handsomely.
The bookkeeper's former home in Sutton Montis, Yeovil, Somerset, was a
�1m mansion, with no fewer than six reception rooms, 11 bedrooms and a
Mercedes in the driveway.
His three children were privately educated with his sons boarding at
Millfield and his daughter at Sherborne.
For Liogka and Philippou the misery of many paid for a luxuriously
appointed �2 million home hosting �20,000 of silk curtains and other
soft furnishings, a state-of-the-art kitchen and a massive extension.
Frequent visits to top West End eateries like Anton Mosimann's and The
Ivy loomed large on their social calendar.
Liogka, a keen Cuban cigar smoker, who actually ran a legitimate
sideline running a foreign "block booking holiday accommodation"
business, also had a fortune in designer clothes and an impressive
jewellery collection including a six carat diamond ring worth �100,000.
In fact nothing dishonest was too much trouble for them.
Two days before one of their crooked companies, Ciao Travel, "was
collapsed" in 2004, they used it to book a �6,000 five-star break with a
legitimate concern.
The seven-day holiday in Marbella was never paid for.
The court heard they enjoyed themselves so much, the following year they
used Grayrise, another of their dishonest operations, for a further week
in the sun. Again, the company disappeared leaving a second �6,000 bill
unsettled.
When confronted Liogka produced a false receipt and insisted she was
just a customer.
The fallout from another of their front companies triggered even more
brazenness.
When creditors called a meeting a month after Entwisle's collapse the
gang "persuaded" an acquaintance to "become a director for a day" and
face losers.
"When he emerged from the meeting he met Philippou and Entwistle in a
nearby cafe - all part of the picture of them putting up a front to
conduct business," said Mr Edmunds.
The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta), the Civil Aviation
Authority (CAA) and Teletext welcomed today's verdicts.
Mike Monk, Head of Financial Services for Abta said: "Together with the
CAA and Teletext we have worked hard to bring these perpetrators to
book, and to make our organisations as fraud proof as possible."
He continued: "Until this case, it has been difficult to get the
authorities interested in these types of fraud, as investigations are
resource heavy and the crimes seen to be 'victimless', which is why it
has taken so long to put these criminals behind bars.
"We are delighted that this case has been successful against a gang, who
have persistently targeted the travel industry as they believed it was a
soft target. This is not the case, and customers can be reassured that
Abta Members have been thoroughly checked and scrutinised. Every
industry sector is vulnerable to fraud and we worked hard and will
continue to work hard to stamp out fraud in the travel industry in order
to protect holidaymakers and our Members."
Barry Gooch, head of compliance at Teletext, said: "Tackling and
preventing fraudulent activity is of the utmost importance to Teletext
and we are delighted that one of the most active gangs of fraudsters
within the travel industry has now been convicted. We hope this will be
a warning to others who are intent on targeting our industry that we
will not tolerate such activities.
"We are proud to say that there have been no instances of fraud on our
service in recent years and our controls in this regard are, we believe,
second to none."
He added: "It is our understanding that Teletext is the only media
company that vets advertisers before allowing them to appear on the
service and is a guarantee to customers booking a holiday via Teletext
that they are booking with a reputable advertiser."
End
THE HOLIDAY FRAUDSTERS' VICTIMS
By Melvyn Howe, PA
COURTS Holiday Victims 26 Feb 2008 - 16:48
Page 1
To the city mayor the promise of sun, sea and sand seemed just too good
to resist.
In fact the package tour seemed to have "bargain" written all over it.
Even better was that the holiday company was registered with the Civil
Aviation Association's regulatory arm and had been advertised on a
reputable TV text service boasting some of the toughest checks in the
industry.
John Reynolds, then Lord Provost of Aberdeen and a leading light on the
local tourist board, was convinced nothing could go wrong.
By the time he realised he had been duped, his �500 deposit had
disappeared and his name added to a roll-call of anger, tears, shattered
dreams, and massive inconvenience.
And if that was not bad enough, he found lightning - or the holiday
hopeful's equivalent - really can strike twice when he fell victim to
the same gang of fraudsters the following year.
In fact the civic dignitary was one of thousands whose hard-earned cash
bought nothing more than a nightmare many will never forget.
His fellow victims not only included newlyweds, but a couple hoping to
celebrate their silver wedding anniversary, single mothers who had
scrimped and scraped to pay for a holiday they could ill-afford, a
mother whose children bought her a holiday for her 50th birthday, and a
wife who desperately wanted to give a treat to her sick husband.
Those behind their torment were three men and a woman whose
multi-tentacled web of callousness and dishonesty stretched back 20
years, involved scores of companies and made them millions.
Today, mother-of-one Evangelia Liogka, her lover Christakis Philippou
and accountant Timothy Entwisle were convicted of their dishonesty at
London's Southwark Crown Court. They will be sentenced later with Peter
Kemp, who confessed his guilt before his fellow conspirators stood
trial.
Mr Reynolds, 58, first fell victim to the gang in October 2004 when he
decided to take a break in Girona, Spain, for himself, wife Helen, 58,
their daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren.
"I thought I had covered all the bases," he recalled.
However, after handing over an initial �500 to Ciao Travel, one of the
gang's "fronts", he realised there was a mistake in the gang's
paperwork.
Over the next few weeks he called them repeatedly and received a litany
of excuses.
Eventually they stopped answering the phone. Then he discovered their
website had disappeared. A phone call to the hotel simply confirmed what
he feared - no reservation existed.
And when investigators visited the travel agent's premises they found
the place "abandoned".
"We were very disappointed," said Mr Reynolds, one of 2,035 would-be
holidaymakers conned out of �1.4 million by this company alone.
The following year, the dignitary, saw an advert for Onshine Ltd, little
suspecting it was just another part of the fraudsters' empire.
Although comforted by the company's Association of British Travel
Agents' registration, he decided to call the industry watchdog anyway.
"I checked they really were registered with them, and going on their
advice I made a booking," he said.
This time he paid �2,800 for another family vacation in Majorca, where
they had enjoyed a "terrific" time two years earlier.
But as soon as he received details of the flight, Mr Reynolds, then
chair for the Aberdeen and Grampian tourist board, realised there was
something wrong.
"I knew the Airtours flight time was wrong. I got back to the travel
agents and they said it was a special charter flight."
Further checks revealed that was untrue. Then he discovered that
company, too, had disappeared.
"Twice bitten unfortunately," said prosecutor Martin Edmunds QC when he
referred to the mayor's ordeal.
Mr Reynolds agreed. He said: "There was certainly a sense of d�j� vu.
But there was also anger...I was bitterly disappointed.
"Thinking back though I don't think there isn't anything I could have
done differently, except to have gone to a reputable High Street travel
agency."
Fortunately, he had paid by credit card and was fully reimbursed for
both cons.
Onshine stopped trading after a CAA official visited its London offices,
became "alarmed" after discovering "little evidence of a proper travel
business being operated" and withdrew a vital Air Travel Organisers'
Licence.
Another victim was Portsmouth care worker Martin Roxburgh, 50.
In 2006 he paid Orange Sun Ltd a bargain �724 for an all-inclusive,
four-star break in Pathos, Cyprus, for himself and his wife.
The pair arrived in the early hours and went straight to their hotel.
Much to their horror they were told they did not have a booking.
To add insult to injury they were then informed they were effectively
"illegal immigrants" because they had arrived without anywhere to stay.
A frantic search and several hotels later found them an empty
�125-a-night room. The next available return flight was three days
later, cost them �700, left from Larnaka at the other end of the island
and was bound for Teesside, hundreds of miles from their destination.
That meant a train to Newcastle, a plane to Southampton - another �294 -
and finally a taxi to Portsmouth.
Altogether the return trip took 17 exhausting hours. And by the time
they had added up all the bills, the disaster had cost them �2,000, only
some of which was refunded.
Other victims included Angela Hughes, a 42-year-old customer services
coordinator, and her family from Dorking, Surrey.
In April 2005 she decided the family needed a holiday. Her husband had
been ill and she had just learned she was being made redundant later
that year.
So she paid Onshine �2,394 for a much-needed break in Costa Dorada,
Spain, convinced it would probably be the last holiday they could afford
for some time.
But as the departure date approached without any sign of the tickets,
she became increasingly concerned.
That turned to suspicion after her phone calls to the company went
unanswered.
When she finally managed to get through to the Spanish hotel they were
due to stay at, her fears were confirmed. They said they had never heard
of her.
Southampton warehouse manager Mark Sunderland, 34, was just hours away
from marrying 29-year-old Claire in August 2006 when he picked up a
phone message telling him their honeymoon had been cancelled "due to
unforeseen circumstances".
It had been left by a supervisor at Orange Sun, a tactic the fraudsters
occasionally used to avoid police involvement by suggesting difficulties
were due to "bad management rather than outright fraud".
In any event the news left a very shocked Claire in tears. After the
ceremony she and her new husband, who had paid �1,637 for a 14-night
all-inclusive stay in Vasilikos, Greece, immediately got on the phone.
Although their flights existed, the duty manger receptionist at the
Hotel Louis Palazzo Di Zante had to tell them not only had no
reservation been made, but that it was so busy he "did not even have an
empty broom cupboard" for them.
The couple then frantically called other hotels in the area, only to
find they too were fully booked.
They eventually got back the �850 paid for the hotel, but lost out on
the flights because they had been confirmed.
About the same time a couple from Redditch, Worcestershire - they wish
to remain anonymous - decided to celebrate their silver wedding
anniversary with a �2,087 week-long break in Tenerife's Costa Adeje Gran
Hotel for themselves, their two sons and one of their friends.
Two weeks before their holiday they realised they still had not received
the tickets.
First she rang Orange Sun, but got no response. Then she went online
only to find their website had been closed down. Finally she rang the
airline and the hotel to find neither had reservations for them.
The couple, who fortunately got all their money back, ended up spending
a few days in Devon instead.
It was a similar story for an unnamed clerk in Bromley, Kent, whose
children decided to surprise her with a sunshine holiday for her 50th
birthday.
They eventually booked a seven-day �700 break in Spain with the same
crooked travel agency.
But when they noticed an error on the booking form and tried to make
some inquiries, they too were left with unanswered phones, a
non-existent website, and then discovered neither their flights nor
their hotel reservations in Lloret de Mar had ever been made.
They were eventually refunded in full.
Probably the "luckiest" victims were 21-year-old Claire Wisker and her
partner from Bradwell, Great Yarmouth, who teamed up with another couple
to book an Orange Sun break in Hersonnissos, Crete, just over 18 months
ago.
"It was all-inclusive and just �1,286," explained the 21-year-old
service administrator.
"It seemed like a massive bargain."
The three-hour flight was uneventful, but when the four holiday hopefuls
arrived at the four-star Eri Village Hotel, it was the usual story - no
reservations and then hotel was full.
Several frantic phone calls to the travel agency followed. They were met
with assurances from the company it would "all be sorted by the
morning". In the meantime a room was found for them, but unsurprisingly
Orange Sun "never sorted anything".
Again, sympathetic hotel chiefs came to their rescue and another three
nights' accommodation followed. After that they were allowed to complete
their holiday in a nearby "sister establishment".
"Thinking what happened to other people, I feel we were really lucky.
But much of the holiday was still spent worrying if we would end up
having to cut our holiday short," said Miss Whisker.
However, we weren't charged anything for the hotel even though they had
not been paid by the travel agency, although it was only later we
discovered we had been the victims of a sophisticated fraud," she added.
end

[quasar]

I'm really sorry for you all. I always book my holidays on a travel agency in my neighbourhood because I'm afraid of con. But I also have to say that I went last year to Barcelona (Spain) and a friend of mine recomended me another company to help me with my holidays: "plannersbcn". It was my first time and I'll call them for sure if I go back to Barcelona. It was just great! I can't help you much, but I can only tell you that these people were great (but they only arrange stuff at the Barcelona area).
This year I want to go to Italy!!!!!

[TraceJ]

Hello all, yes I had a letter from the Met Police and a questionnaire to complete for my claim. I really thought I wouldn't hear any more about this but was so glad that I kept all the paperwork and could provide dates. I also still had a copy of the front and back of my cheque. Hopefully now justice will be done and those who paid by cheque can see some return on this whilst the four who have been charged begin a much different life to what they have been living on our proceeds. Well done to everyone who has maintained their updates, it looks like this is now paying off!

[steveparker]

Hi eveyone...

Just recieved a compensation form from the court/Police dealing with the case. t doesn't say we will definately get our money back but there is now a glimmer of hope for all of us who payed by cheque.
Please reply too if you get this form. I will be sending mine off soon but would want to make sure everything is right first.
Make sure you have copies of everything to send off, this includes the cheque too!



LETS ALL HOPE!!