A travel agent faces jail after pleading guilty to fraud involving hundreds of customers which could total £2.6 million.
Lyne Barlow, 39, previously of Stanley, County Durham, admitted stealing £500,000 from one person, ten counts of fraud and a money laundering charge involving £1.6 million.
Durham Crown Court heard that Barlow’s offending topped £2.6 million, although her defence team disputes the figure.
Judge James Adkin said she faces jail when she is sentenced on December 12.
Watch: Police remove Lyne Barlow’s headscarf in custody suite:
Barlow defrauded family and friends of their savings to set up her travel agency before falsely selling holidays to customers, Durham Police said after the case.
She claimed that she carried Atol protection and was a member of Abta, the BBC reported.
Many of those people who handed over their money later discovered that Barlow had never paid for the holidays they booked with her.
Judge Adkin granted her bail ahead of the sentencing but told her she would be given “a long prison sentence”.
Listen: Calls made to Police by victims of Lyne Barlow:
Durham Police said Barlow’s travel business was no longer operational, and its social media page was taken down shortly after her arrest in September 2020.
“Several hundred” people came forward to make complaints against her and Detective Sergeant Alan Meehan, from the constabulary’s economic fraud unit, said after the case that it had been one of the biggest fraud cases the force had dealt with.
“So many people have been affected by her actions, lives have been changed forever and some are still feeling the effects today,” he added.
Police said the frauds related to loans, investments and holiday sales.
The court heard that some of Barlow’s victims may wish to read statements during the sentencing hearing.
Tony Davis, defending, said some of her clients received their holidays and suffered no loss.
He asked the court to allow a psychiatric report to be prepared and referred to the fact Barlow told some people she has a terminal illness.