Agent jailed for six months for fraud
A homeworker who defrauded The Advantage Travel Partnership has been jailed for not repaying the £33,000 she stole from the consortium.
Rita Hunter, who ran Hunters Travel in Liverpool, had pleaded guilty to fraud charges and was given an 18-month suspended sentence back in 2016 and was ordered to pay back the amount.
But having failed to return the funds, yesterday she was sentenced to 180 days in prison by South Sefton magistrates.
Advantage managing director Julia Lo Bue-Said said she hoped the sentence would act as a deterrent to anyone else who thinks they can commit fraud in the travel industry.
Hunter, a former franchisee of Explorer Travel, had used customers’ credit and debit details for bookings but was directing money to her own bank accounts.
Rita Hunter’s LinkedIn profile is still live
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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