Family facing jail over holiday compensation scam

A “SOPHISTICATED” plan to pretend to get sick on holiday for compensation payout has come back to bite a couple and their children.

A FAMILY accused of lying about getting sick on holiday to extort $87,000 in compensation from travel company Thomas Cook are set to appear in court in a landmark case.

British couple Deborah Briton, 53, and Paul Roberts, 43, allegedly submitted fake food poisoning claims for themselves and their two children on all-inclusive holiday in Majorca, Spain, The Sun reported.

A preliminary hearing was told Mrs Briton’s daughter Charlene Briton, 30, also submitted a further false claim for herself and her young daughter for their holiday last year.

All three appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court last week where they denied six counts of fraud, the Mail On Sunday reports.

The case is thought to be the first time anyone has appeared in a criminal court in the UK accused of making a fake compensation claim for holiday sickness.

Fake sickness claims by British holiday-makers at European resorts has been a recent growing problem, particularly in countries such as Spain, where there is an angry backlash from the local hotel industry.

This case is thought to be the first time anyone has appeared in a British criminal court accused of making a fake holiday sickness compensation claim.

The prosecution told how the total fraud amounted to £52,000 (A$87,000) and the claims for food poisoning were submitted by David Norman Solicitors.

Mrs Briton’s daughter Charlene Briton, 30, pictured, is also accused of submitting a further false claim on behalf of her and her daughter.

District judge Andrew Shaw told the defendants, from Liverpool, that the case will be sent to crown court for trial and that the allegations represented a “sophisticated fraud with relatively high value of money claimed”.

The case was adjourned until a pre-trial hearing on August 10, and the defendants were given unconditional bail.

If they are found guilty when the case comes to trial, they could face between 18 months and six years in prison.

In the past year tens of thousands of UK holiday-makers have made claims — worth around £3000 to £5000 (A$5000 to $8400) each — despite reported sickness levels in resorts remaining stable.

The couple are said to have claimed for both themselves and their two children

Travel trade organisation Abta launched a campaign last month to stop a huge spike in claims.

It claims legislation designed to halt the surge in fraudulent whiplash claims — a cap on the legal fees that can be charged by solicitors pursuing personal injury cases — has fuelled the rise in travel sickness reports as it does not apply to incidents overseas.

It warns that holiday-makers pursuing fake or exaggerated claims risk ending up in prison either in the UK or abroad.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.