A rogue travel agent who defrauded 1,400 holidaymakers and pretended to have terminal cancer to deflect complaints has been jailed for nine years. Lyne Barlow, 39, formerly of Stanley, County Durham, was sentenced at Durham Crown Court after the scale of her fraud was estimated at £1.2m.
Judge Joanne Kidd said Barlow had “an extraordinary talent for dishonesty” and was a “thoroughly callous individual”. The court heard Barlow also stole the financial identity of her mother, who had recently been widowed, and borrowed money from neighbours and friends that was never repaid.
Barlow set up as an independent travel agent in 2019, offering holidays at discounted rates using publicly available websites. She funded the difference with borrowed or her own money, and used new bookings to pay for existing holidays in a Ponzi-style scheme. While some customers enjoyed trips and left five-star reviews, others found their return flights unpaid, were stranded overseas, or had to pay extra.
Barlow faked a terminal cancer diagnosis to avoid questions, telling customers she was in excruciating pain, incontinent and receiving palliative care. Relatives believed she was ill, with family members taking her to hospital for fake appointments. She sometimes cut her own hair and left it on the bed to suggest hair loss, and had food shopping washed on her doorstep during the pandemic to minimise Covid risk.
Durham Constabulary described the investigation as one of its biggest ever. Detective Sergeant Alan Meehan said Barlow was “callous” and her actions “appalling”, adding that her husband was “very surprised and shocked” when told she did not have cancer. When police arrested her, two groups of customers were at her home: some angry, others sympathetic because they believed she was ill. Barlow wore a headscarf and appeared frail, but medical records showed no cancer diagnosis.
In victim impact statements, people described anxiety, sleepless nights and difficulty trusting others. Tony Davis, defending, said Barlow was a “broken, beaten, penniless woman” who apologised to every victim. The court heard there was no psychiatric defence and that she had undergone 80 hours of counselling without a root cause being identified.
