Andrew Harris, 56, from Alcester, Warwickshire, has been ordered to repay £350,000 or face another two and a half years in prison. This has all happened just days before his release from his original sentence.
The yacht timeshare fraudster, along with David Evans, a fellow Director in Shakespeare Classic Line both denied the fraudulent trading by selling fractional ownership of three boats and their maintenance fees.
But the partners and their company were all convicted after a trial at Warwick Crown Court in November 2013.
Andrew Harris was jailed for four-and-a-half years while David Evans, now aged 70, was given a suspended sentence of 21-months.
Andrew Harris is reported to have gained more than £550,000 by the yacht timeshare scam a Proceeds of Crime hearing heard but now only has assets of £350,000.
Judge Parker ordered that all £350,000 assets to be confiscated, out of which just £21,731 will be used to pay compensation to victims of the scam! This seems to be a common trend… although prison time seems inevitable, the victims still don’t get anywhere near the compensation they deserve.
Andrew Harris was given until 8th May 2016 to come up with the money or face a further two and a half years in prison – after which he would still owe the £350,000.
Shakespeare Classic Line as a company was ordered to repay £225,988 confiscation order, with again, just £21,731 being set aside to compensate victims. Shakespear Classic Lines remaining assets are said to include narrowboats, cruisers and a yacht moored in Turkey.
When Andrew Harris was originally jailed, Judge Parker had said: “Mr Harris ran what can only be described as a fraud factory where customers were processed in industrial numbers. I am satisfied Mr Harris is a dishonest, selfish and greedy man.”
The fractional timeshare ownership fraud had involved the sale of three £250,000 yachts moored at Marmaris in Turkey.
Potential customers were enticed to attend timeshare sales presentations in Hatton by being offered free holidays after being contacted from cold-calling.
But once at the timeshare sales presentation, they were subjected to the usual high-pressure sales tactics for up to five hours, in a bid to get them to sign up.
Customers ended up agreeing to pay £10,000 plus for one-week of fractional ownership of a yacht.
In addition they also had to agree to pay £250 per person to stay on the yacht!! PLUS an annual maintenance cost of £395.
One scammed customer described his timeshare sales presentation experience at the company’s Hatton offices as leaving him ‘stressed and brainwashed.’ A common phrase in the timeshare sales environment is “persistence conquers resistance” meaning the longer you continue with the hard sell tactics the more likely the client will sign and in these situations it seems to have worked. Another victim added: “They have stolen our future.”
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk