View 6 Images

A conman splashed out £31,500 on an LS Lowry sketch and a luxury life in Tenerife using money stolen from a holiday investment scam that fleeced more than 3,000 people out of £28m.

The conspiracy, masterminded by Mark Rowe, 54, operated under the brand Sell My Timeshare (SMT), with his wife, Nicola, serving as the company's finance director.

The firm preyed on owners desperate to offload their properties. Investigators revealed Mark Rowe 'put victims up in hotels' and 'created fake virtual offices and fake personas' as part of the fraud, with 14 people eventually convicted of various offences under Operation Destin.

After being enticed to meetings at SMT's Bournemouth, York, Stratford-upon-Avon or Tenerife-based offices under the guise of selling their timeshares, victims

See Full Page