So far five people are accused of running a scam where victims were cold-called and offered a bogus paid-for service to get money they were owed from timeshare schemes.
Some were called again and told they had been defrauded, and offered another fake paid-for service to get their money back, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.
Emma Luxton from the SFO said elderly and vulnerable people were among those targeted, and that this type of investment fraud is on the rise.
Investigators claim the scheme ran from January 2018 to September 2024. One of the 19 companies, Sonata Trading Ltd, was registered in York, according to Companies House.
In August the SFO arrested a man in his 50s as he was about to board a flight at Manchester Airport.
The following month four alleged accomplices – a woman in her 30s and three other men in their 50s – were also arrested on suspicion of fraud.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Benefit fraudster stole nearly £150,000 by impersonating stepmother
- York single woman got nearly £22,000 by benefit fraud
- North Yorkshire pensioner, 87, outwitted fraud gang who targeted him for cash
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