A travel agent who lied about having cancer while scamming hundreds of holidaymakers in a £2.6m con has been jailed.

Lyne Barlow carried out one of the biggest frauds ever investigated by Durham Police – and told people she had a terminal illness while she committed her crimes.

She initially targeted her own family and friends and used their savings before setting up a travel agency, in which she fraudulently sold holidays.

Barlow, 39, admitted the theft of £500,000 from her own mother following the death of her father in 2015, as well as 10 charges of fraud and one count of money laundering.

Jailing her for nine years at Durham Crown Court on Friday, Judge Jo Kidd told Barlow she had “an extraordinary talent for dishonesty”.

The fraudster sold luxury holidays at knock-down prices but was funding the sales in a ponzi-style scheme by bringing in new customers to fund existing ones.

Many of her 1,400 victims discovered the holidays they bought through her business were never booked or paid for by her.

Durham Police said Barlow tricked victims, including her close relatives, into believing she had cancer as a means to deflect complaints when people contacted her about missing booking references.

A local travel industry source said Barlow, from Stanley, County Durham, would offer prices to customers that were “too good to be true”.

She is understood to have offered deals such as a five-star all-inclusive week in Dubai for as little as £500.

‘Disgraceful’ crimes

Jay Steward, 53, told Sky News he booked two holidays with Barlow in 2020 after she was recommended by a friend.

He bought a week’s getaway for his daughter and her boyfriend at an all-inclusive five-star hotel in Dubai, which was priced at £1,000 for the couple.

He also paid around £700 for a week in Malta for himself and his wife Julie for their 27th wedding anniversary. The holiday was on sale for half the price being offered by a well-known travel operator, he said.

After the COVID pandemic forced the holidays to be cancelled, Mr Steward said he received “excuses” about why there were delays to his money being refunded.

He said he then received a message saying Barlow had cancer and she “can’t respond to messages”.

It was only after he mentioned that he planned to contact his credit card company that he received the money back, Mr Steward added.

He told Sky News he felt like he had a “dodged a bullet” and branded Barlow’s crimes “disgraceful”, saying: “I feel so sorry for those people who’ve lost everything.”

‘Barlow tried to recruit us’

Another holidaymaker who booked a cruise holiday with Barlow said she paid upfront after being offered a 10% discount.

After the trip was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic, she paid an extra £350 to book on to another cruise – and says the additional payment has not been returned.

The industry source said Barlow “did much untold damage to local travel agents who simply could not compete at the unrealistic prices”.

“We tried to tell numerous people it wasn’t right but as some people were travelling and getting the holidays at these prices – she was clearly funding the shortfall with other people’s money – they wouldn’t believe it,” the source told PA news agency.

“We even contacted her ourselves and tried to call her out but she wasn’t fazed in the least and actually tried to recruit us to work for her.”

Barlow told her customers that the reason her deals were so cheap was because other travel agents were charging “large mark-ups” on holidays, when in fact it was her prices “that were too good to be true”, according to the source.

She also “lied about having the relevant licences to trade,” the source added.

They said: “We contacted police but were informed that as people were getting their holidays, at this point there was nothing they could do.

“People were literally throwing money at her.”

‘Lives changed forever’

Barlow claimed the holidays she offered were covered by ATOL and ABTA protection schemes, which provide financial protection for package holidays if the travel company goes bust.

The judge said the amount stolen over seven years was £2.6m, causing a loss of over £1.2m.

Police said the fraud charges related to loans, investments and holiday sales.

At a previous hearing, Tony Davis, defending, asked for the court to allow a psychiatric report to be prepared and referred to the fact Barlow had told some people she had a terminal illness.

Her travel business is no longer operational, and its social media page was taken down shortly after her arrest in September 2020.

Detective Sergeant Alan Meeha said fraud was a “horrendous crime” and there were “far-reaching consequences” for the victims.

“So many people have been affected by her actions, lives have been changed forever and some are still feeling the effects today,” Mr Meeha added.

“This is one of the biggest fraud cases Durham Constabulary has ever dealt with and I would like to thank everyone who came forward for their patience and understanding while we carried out a thorough investigation.”