A food poisoning scam in which holidaymakers lodged fake compensation claims against hotels in Majorca has led to eight Britons being charged .
They are accused of being part of an operation that cost businesses at least €200,000, although the total could be much higher.
The gang allegedly collected information from British holidaymakers staying at all-inclusive resorts on the Balearic island between 2016 and 2017.
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Members of the group are accused of travelling to hotels to collect information which was then sent onto lawyers in the UK who lodged fake compensation claims for sickness, The Times reported.
They are alleged to have taken a cut from the compensation claims eventually filed agains hotels and tour operators.
Brother and sister Laura Joyce and Marc Grimstead were described by a Spanish investigating judge as the ringleaders who set up a company, Elite Project Marketing SA, as a front, the newspaper reported.
The members of the alleged group are accused of fraud.
An attempt by Joyce to have her case dismissed was rejected in a six-page writ by Maria Perez Ruiz, an investigating judge in Palma.
She pointed to several factors that indicated criminality in the case, highlighting how only 38 out of 800 eventually claimants asked for medical help during their stay at the Club Mac hotel in Alcudia.
Ruiz said that inspections had found that for safety standards were adequate at the hotels when the claims were made.
She said that the amount of compensation claimed due to the schemes exceeded €200,000 but that the full extent of the losses has yet to be determined.
The eight deny the charges and a trial date has yet to be set.
A rise in false insurance claims six years ago was criticised by Spanish hotels as costing the industry €60 million a year.
The Spanish hotel owners association said at the time claims from those on all-inclusive packages in Majorca had risen by 700% in 2016.
More: Jet2holidays wins ‘landmark’ fake sickness claims appeal [2019]
Travel sector ‘winning fake claims fight’ [2018]
Police issue warning to holidaymakers making false sickness claims [2017]