Solicitors Seek £3.8 Million In Timeshare Fraud Cases

28/07/2004

Solicitors seeking to recover £3.8 million compensation from convicted timeshare fraudster, John Palmer, have issued bankruptcy proceedings against him to recover money for their clients, after Palmer ignored a High Court order for him to compensate hundreds of people he fraudulently sold timeshare holiday homes. Palmer is reputed to be worth as much as £300m.

In May the High Court awarded 350 clients of national law firm Irwin Mitchell (IM) an average of £11,000 each and ordered Palmer to pay their legal costs, estimated at around £1.4 million. The money had to be paid by 24 May but Palmer has refused to pay. He has not appealed against the ruling.

Alan Owens, partner at IM, who acts for those expecting compensation, says: "This is a positive move to retrieve the money Palmer reportedly has and to compensate the many people he duped.

"We have begun bankruptcy proceedings and we will be appointing a trustee to investigate Palmer's assets and gather them in order to pay creditors.

"Palmer's finances are complex but we are confident that the money to pay the victims will be found.

"Our clients are now on the brink of obtaining proper redress for the losses they suffered at Palmer's hands."

John Palmer was sentenced to eight years in prison in May 2001 after being found guilty of fraudulently selling timeshares to an estimated 16,600 people. Many of Palmer's victims are pensioners who bought Palmer timeshares in Tenerife that are now virtually worthless.