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Agent jailed after conning customers out of £32,000
A travel agent who conned holidaymakers out of thousands of pounds has been jailed.
Chetan Pal Panesar, who ran E-tickets Worldwide Limited, in Birmingham, cheated 18 customers out of £32,000 for flights he never booked.
Panesar previously pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent business carried on for a fraudulent purpose.
Sentencing him to 21 months behind bars at Birmingham Crown Court, the judge said Panesar, 48, repeatedly lied to victims, some of whom paid him in cash instalments spread out over several months.
Judge Kristina Montgomery QC said a number of factors had prompted her to hand out a custodial sentence, including that he lied about being a member of ABTA and ATOL.
His company has now been dissolved.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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