A struck off solicitor has been jailed for washing the dirty cash of organised criminals running an international timeshare fraud scheme.
Anthony Lea, 66, admitting laundering £465,000 for the gang who used cold callers promising that they had timeshare buyers lined up for a quick sale. Lea, from West End Road, St Helens was even found to have handed over bags stuffed with £180,000 in cash at motorway service stations.
A Trading Standards investigation began in 2016 after a tip-off from a pensioner in West Berkshire, but it soon became clear there were hundreds of timeshare and holiday club policyholders victimised by the organised crime group. The masterminds of the operation, who have never been identified, posed as so-called 'resale firms' Simple Timeshare Sales and Marketing, Find Me Travel and UK Holiday Consultants.
