A travel consultant who worked for the three fraudsters jailed on September 8 has warned other agents to speak out if they suspect wrongdoing.
Michael Sanchez, 29, and Rashid Hammou, 38, both from Eltham, London, and Paul Kelly, 53, from Lewisham, London, were sentenced to a total of 13 years in prison at Southwark Crown Court this week.
The trio bought Flights International (Southend) from owner Paul McDonald in June 2007. They forced the existing staff to issue flights worth £1.2 million, for which the airlines never received payment.
Lisa Price had worked for Flights International (Southend) for 16 years when the gang took over. She and the other staff were left thousands of pounds out of pocket in lost wages when the agency was suddenly closed by police. Now she has warned other agents to try to avoid ending up in the same position.
“If you are suspicious then speak up – don’t be fobbed off. If you think something is wrong, then take it further. I had worked in the travel industry for 25 years and had never seen a business operated like this, but they seemed genuine and I wanted to believe in them,” she said.
When the group first bought the Essex-based business, the staff were pleased to keep their jobs. Price said: “They were perfectly charming and we couldn’t believe our luck. We thought we had the nicest new bosses in the world.”
Price and the other three staff suddenly found themselves working 12-hour days, six days a week, as the fraudsters bombarded them with demands for high-value flights. They booked up to 120 flights a day, mostly for musicians travelling from South America to concerts across Europe.
“They offered us as many hours as we wanted, and promised us bonuses. We were all single mums so we were happy to work our socks off. When we weren’t taking payment for flights, I started asking questions, but they always fobbed me off with a plausible excuse.”
Price’s suspicions grew when the team were paid their first salary by the new owners. “They took us out for a meal and when we came out, they handed us cash out of a carrier bag. We thought it was dodgy but accepted their excuses because they seemed so genuine.”
What to do if you suspect fraud
- Contact anti-fraud group PROFiT by email
- Report it to the police (download a pdf guide)
- Consumers who suspect a scam should contact Consumer Direct