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Prosecutors have labeled it as among the biggest frauds of its kind in the Britain.

Altogether 14 people have been found guilty for their part in a multi-million pound plot to cheat more than 3,500 timeshare owners.

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

A large number were from 60 and 80. Over 500 of them parted with more than £10,000, and a single victim handed over in excess of £80,000.

Those affected were faced aggressive presentations lasting up to six hours. They were left out of pocket, holding useless fake "credits" and continued to be trapped in expensive vacation property deals they frequently were unable to use.

The Company Behind the Scam

The business at the centre of the fraud was the timeshare resale company. They accepted customers' funds to support the directors' lavish lifestyle of private schools, luxury homes and private jets.

The man at the helm of the organization, the main defendant, was handed a 90-month jail time in January for fraudulent conspiracy.

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

She was handed a two-year deferred imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court after confessing to illegal fund handling.

This has been a long time coming and signifies a major victory for the individuals who testified, the authorities and legal representatives.

How the Probe Started

The first knowledge of SMT came in the summer of 2016. I was working in the investigations unit of a news organization, creating current affairs features.

A colleague pointed out that his parent had assumed the ownership of a timeshare apartment in the Spanish coast and, after years of holidays, had started seeking to get out of the contract.

It is important to recall how widespread holiday ownership had grown with English tourists in the last decades of the 20th century.

Vacation properties permitted individuals to use the same accommodation each season, or trade their time slots with other owners who had apartments in different locations. About 600,000 sun-lovers took up that opportunity.

The initial boom was accompanied by a numerous stories about rip-off merchants mis-selling units. They became a staple on investigative broadcasts.

The typical holiday ownership agreement bound owners for long periods.

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

Several had declining mobility and couldn't get to their properties. Others just felt they'd achieved their goals from them. And others had died, in numerous instances bequeathing their loved ones to take over the deals - plus their regular contributions and upkeep costs.

The Investigation Progresses

It was at this point the friend's mum had ended up. She searched the web for answers and discovered SMT, a enterprise whose online presence promised to get her out of her agreement.

But, having made a payment and booked a meeting with them, her loved ones became suspicious.

Subsequent checking showed hundreds of people claiming they had paid money and received no benefit from the service. Indeed, they had been left out of pocket. A lot of it.

The investigative unit commenced probing what was occurring. It soon emerged that there were dubious individuals active in the timeshare resale sector.

An attorney had hundreds of individual complaints aiming to litigate against the company.

The team interviewed individuals who had used the firm and they collectively described identical situations. They assumed the business would buy their property away from them but when they attended a meeting (for which they submitted funds initially) they were told there was no potential buyers.

Instead, they were pushed - indeed coerced - to spend more money investing in "Monster Rewards", associated with the outfit's parent company, the overarching entity.

What exactly these were was somewhat vague. They appeared to be a form of credit, providing discount travel and amenities and consumer discounts.

And they were reportedly "transferable with fellow investors, at a future date.

Committing funds at the time would result in an future return that would cover the firm's costs and allow the property owner with a gain, liberated eventually from their troublesome contract.

An unbelievable offer? Certainly, that proved correct.

A 'Deceptive Tactic'

If these accounts were true, this was a major deception.

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

A business - here the company - "baits" the customer by marketing a specific service but then to claim it is unavailable, pushing the customer to a different, lower-quality offering.

This is against the law. Equipped with all the accounts we had gathered, we presented the rationale to discreetly video one of the firm's consultations.

This takes time, effort, and clear arguments for why this is the sole method to collect the data needed to demonstrate illegal activity.

Armed with that permission, our limited crew arranged a meeting with one of the company's representatives in the English town.

Pretending to be a member of the public hoping to assist his parent out of her timeshare contract|holiday ownership agreement