Norfolk agent jailed for fraud

A Norfolk travel agent who traded fraudulently and falsely claimed to be a member of ABTA has been jailed for 15 months. Lisa Varley received the sentence at Norwich Crown Court for several offences of fraud and deception. Her company, Premier Dubai, failed in 2001, leaving over 100 customers out of pocket. Premier Dubai offered upmarket package holidays and used an ABTA registration number without its permission. The company misled customers into believing that their money was fully protected under both ABTA and the Civil Aviation Authority’s air travel organiser’s licence scheme. Ms Varley pleaded guilty to a total of 13 counts and in addition to her custodial sentence was disqualified from being a company director for 6 years. ABTA chief executive Ian Reynolds said he was satisfied with the verdict. “The travel trade is one of the very few areas of business where reputable companies protect their clients in the event of their failure,” said Reynolds. “Premier Dubai intentionally set out to mislead their customers and left many considerably out of pocket. We are pleased to see that in this instance, the police and courts have treated this matter with the severity it demanded. This judgement sends a loud and clear message out to any others tempted to try the same trick”.