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Authorities have called it as one of the largest scams of its kind in the Britain.

In all 14 people have been sentenced for their role in a £28m scheme to defraud in excess of 3,500 timeshare owners.

The targets were keen to exit long-standing vacation property deals and tried to find help.

Most were aged between 60 and 80. More than 500 of them parted with more than £10,000, and one handed over over £80,000.

Those affected were exposed to intense sales meetings continuing for six hours. They were financially worse off, possessing useless fake "points" and still trapped in costly timeshare contracts they could no longer use.

The Business Behind the Fraud

The business at the heart of the fraud was Sell My Timeshare (SMT). They took people's money to finance the owners' lavish standard of living of prestigious schooling, millionaire mansions and personal aircraft.

The man at the top of the firm, the company director, was handed a seven and a half year prison term in January for deceptive scheme.

In the latest development, his partner another individual was among the last group to receive sentencing.

She was given a 24-month suspended prison term at the London court after admitting money laundering.

It has been a long time coming and marks a significant success for the individuals who testified, the police and legal representatives.

How the Investigation Started

The initial awareness of the firm came in the summer of 2016. I was working in the reporting team of a media outlet, making documentary programmes.

A acquaintance noted that his mother had inherited the rights of a vacation unit in Spain and, after years of holidays, had begun looking to terminate the contract.

It should be noted how common timeshares had evolved with English tourists in the eighties and nineties.

Holiday ownership enabled individuals to access the same accommodation every year, or swap their vacation periods with additional holders who had properties in alternative destinations. Approximately 600,000 holiday enthusiasts took up that opportunity.

The initial boom was accompanied by a numerous stories about dishonest operators mis-selling investments. They were regularly featured on consumer shows.

The standard vacation property deal tied investors in for decades.

By 2016, those investors who had experienced their guaranteed place in the sun for a long time were ageing, and a large proportion were hoping to end their association to their vacation investments.

Some had declining mobility and found it difficult to access their properties. Some just believed they'd achieved their goals from them. And others had passed away, in numerous instances bequeathing their heirs to assume the agreements - plus their yearly fees and upkeep costs.

The Investigation Develops

It was at this point the family member had found herself. She looked online for answers and discovered the company, a firm whose online presence claimed to release her from her agreement.

However, having submitted funds and arranged an appointment with them, her loved ones had doubts.

Subsequent checking uncovered hundreds of people claiming they had submitted funds and got nothing out of it. Actually, they had been left out of pocket. Significant sums.

Our team began investigating what was going on. It was rapidly apparent that there were dubious individuals active in the timeshare resale sector.

An attorney had many grievance cases waiting to sue the company.

We spoke to people who had used the firm and they each reported similar experiences. They believed the firm would acquire their investment off them but when they attended a meeting (for which they made an advance payment) they were advised there was no potential buyers.

Rather, they were persuaded - in fact compelled - to invest additional funds investing in "the firm's incentive scheme", associated with the business's umbrella group, the parent organization.

The nature of these rewards was somewhat vague. They appeared to be a type of exchange medium, giving access to cheaper vacations and amenities and consumer discounts.

And they were apparently "tradable" with other owners, some time down the line.

Investing money immediately would result in an eventual payoff that would cover the firm's costs and result in the property owner ahead financially, liberated eventually from their pesky agreement.

An unrealistic promise? Indeed, it was.

A 'Misleading Scheme'

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

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

An operator - here SMT - "attracts the client by marketing a specific service but then to state it cannot be provided, pushing the individual towards another, inferior option.

Such practices are unlawful. Armed with all the testimony we had gathered, we made the case to discreetly video one of the company's meetings.

Such an operation demands dedication, work, and strong justifications for why this is the only way to obtain the evidence needed to demonstrate illegal activity.

Once authorized, our compact group set up a appointment with one of the company's representatives in the location.

Pretending to be a member of the public hoping to get his mum free from her timeshare contract|holiday ownership agreement