RDO welcomes convictions of fraudsters behind £27m Monster Group scam
Resort Development Organisation (RDO) has welcomed the convictions and prison sentences issued following a series of four trials held over the past year at Southwark Crown Court. These verdicts bring to justice the criminals behind the fraudulent Monster Group scheme, which defrauded thousands of timeshare owners of approximately £27 million between 2013 and 2017.
How the scam worked
Operating through companies including sellmytimeshare.com and offshoots such as Monster Cruises, Monster Flight Centre, and Tenerife Expert, the fraudsters systematically targeted timeshare owners — many of them elderly — with false promises of buying their timeshares.
Victims were enticed through websites like sellmytimeshare.com or contacted directly and invited to meetings, often held in Bournemouth. Upon arrival, they discovered that the company was not intending to buy their timeshare, as originally claimed. Instead, they were persuaded to exchange their timeshare contracts for Monster holiday credits, which they were told could be sold back at a substantial profit in just over a year.
The court heard that victims were frequently subjected to high-pressure sales tactics, with meetings lasting many hours and only short breaks, forcing them to make life-changing decisions on the same day without the chance for overnight reflection.
Thousands were falsely assured that Monster credits were highly sought after — allegedly “widely popular with the Russians and wanted by the whole world.” Victims were promised that they could double their money after 14 months by cashing in their credits at a premium.
However, when the promised time elapsed, victims were told the credits had no value and were not selling. Many were then deceived a second time, persuaded to invest thousands more — often through loans — into another fraudulent venture based in Lincolnshire in a desperate attempt to recoup their losses.
The scale of the fraud
Evidence presented in court revealed there were more than 4,500 complainants. Prosecutors confirmed that the scheme defrauded timeshare owners of around £27 million in vacation ownership contracts. Numerous victims testified, describing how Monster sales staff insisted they would be “foolish” not to exchange their timeshares for Monster credits, falsely claiming this was the only way to sell their timeshare.
Sentences
Mark Rowe, the mastermind behind the conspiracy, received a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence, with several accomplices also jailed or handed suspended sentences:
- Paul Harrison – four and a half years
- Simon Walker – four and a half years
- Paul Salih – three years
- David Taylor – three years
- Joanne Physick – two and a half years
- Lisa Salih – two-year suspended sentence, 10 days rehabilitation work
- Jodi Beard – two-year suspended sentence, 150 hours unpaid work
- Samantha McCaulay – 18-month suspended sentence, 100 hours unpaid work
- Joanne Taylor – 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, 15 days rehabilitation work
- Lee Evans – two-year suspended sentence plus 150 hours unpaid work
- Barrie Fox – TBC
- Josephine Cuthill–Fox – TBC
- Nicola Rowe – TBC
RDO’s role in exposing the scam
RDO played a crucial role in bringing these criminals to justice. Initially alerted by repeated attempts from Mark Rowe to have his companies admitted to RDO — a move intended to lend the operation false credibility — RDO rejected all such approaches and instead launched an 18-month independent investigation.
Working alongside its enforcement partner, KwikChex, RDO gathered extensive evidence, investing approximately £250,000 into the investigation. The comprehensive files provided to the police and Crown Prosecution Service were instrumental in enabling prosecutors to bring the case to trial.
RDO Chairman, Lee Dowling, said: “These trials have shown how Monster Group preyed on thousands of innocent timeshare owners. Instead of the promised profits, victims were left with worthless vouchers and lies about fictitious buyers.
“As the pan European trade body for the timeshare and vacation ownership industry, Resort Development Organisation (RDO) played a key role in bringing Mark Rowe and his associates to justice. Despite constant pressure from Rowe to be allowed to join the RDO as a member, we repeatedly refused him.
Without our investigation, this case may never have reached court – and many more owners could have been targeted.”
Advice to timeshare owners
RDO urges anyone considering giving up their timeshare to contact their resort first or visit the RDO website. All RDO members provide safe, legitimate ways for owners to relinquish their contracts in cases such as bereavement, illness, inheritance, or bankruptcy.
