Con artist ‘posed as cruise ship captain’ to sell fake luxury holidays

‘Seasoned’ fraudster wrung over £300,000 from hopeful holidaymakers

Mr Oliver told clients he worked for Carnival Cruise Line, the court heard (Getty Images)

A con man who swindled victims out of £320,315 used to dress up as a ship’s captain in order to sell fake luxury holidays, a court has heard.

Jody Oliver, 33, wore a fake Carnival Cruise Line captain’s unifrom and used a bogus ID with the name “Captain Jonathan Flynn Oliver” when peddling cruise holidays that didn’t exist, prosecutors told Newport Crown Court last week week.

Mr Oliver convinced at least nine people in the Newport area of South Wales that he was a “master mariner”, telling them that he could get deals on luxury cruises between January 2018 and January 2019.

Prosecutors said that Mr Oliver, a former police officer, invented the names of fictional ship’s officers and designed fake cruise-company payslips as part of his convincing travel fraud scheme.

Victims said Mr Oliver at first offered free cruises as “perks of the job” before moving on to selling them at what he said were discounted prices. He claimed he had worked for Carnival Cruise Line for two years.

The court heard how the “seasoned” con artist would then claim the clients’ cruises were delayed or cancelled, blaming “security issues” or “ship problems”.

“He started masquerading as a cruise ship captain,” said prosecutor Andrew Davies.

“The simple ploy that the defendant used was to offer luxurious cruises to exotic locations at a fraction of the price from those obtained from a legitimate agent.

“He created the aura of a cruise ship captain through a variety of means, which included dressing up as a captain when he met people to discuss potential cruises.”

Mr Oliver admitted six counts of fraud by false representation for this scheme and others, and was jailed for six years.

Some victims who were friends of the scammer said they had put their life savings into his hands in the hope of a “once in a lifetime” holiday at sea.

Concluding, Mr Davies said: “The defendant was at the centre of an intricate web of lies and deceit.

“He did not care who he hurt or sought to swindle and lied even to those he professed to love.

“The defendant used different names and job descriptions to obtain money and to live a life that he could not afford.

“He was living two separate fantasy lives, neither of which he could sustain with legitimate income.”

A jury heard how Mr Oliver used the money to live a double life, dividing his time between his wife’s home and a boyfriend’s property.

Last week, a baggage scam was unveiled by British Airways customers after fraudsters contacted passengers of the airline whose luggage was missing, claiming that they must pay for it to be sent to them.