Timeshare fraudster loses bid for sentence to be slashed
A Black Country man who was jailed for his part in a 'cynical and ruthless' timeshare scam had his appeal against sentence thrown out by top judges.
Shivjit Singh Bagharian, 31, of St Albans Road, Smethwick, was one of 10 criminals sentenced for their roles in the £1million fraud.
They had targeted elderly and vulnerable timeshare owners, conning them into handing over thousands of pounds.
Bagharian admitted conspiracy to defraud and was jailed for seven years and two months at Birmingham Crown Court in January.
He appealed on Thursday, but top judges led by the lord chief justice Lord Thomas said the prison term was justified.
See also: £1m timeshare gang targeted pensioners and left victims feeling humiliated
Mr Justice Fraser, giving judgment on behalf of Lord Thomas and Mr Justice Wilkie, said the gang had deliberately targeted very vulnerable victims.
They cold-called timeshare owners, offering to provide a legitimate service to help them sell their properties.
Modest fees were requested, but the fraudsters then returned asking for more and more.
They claimed money was needed for legal fees and taxes, pressuring and intimidating victims into parting with their cash.
All of the victims were elderly, some of them recently bereaved, and all vulnerable, said Mr Justice Fraser.
Some of them lost their entire life savings to the 'lucrative' fraud, which pocketed the gang over £1m between 2011 and 2013.
The victims had not been out to 'get rich quick', simply wanting to sell their genuine assets, the judge continued.
Rejecting Bagharian's claim that he had been too harshly punished, he said the plot was 'cynical and ruthless'.
"It was a carefully planned fraud, executed in a ruthless way and targeting those who were elderly and vulnerable," he said.
"It is not arguable that the sentence was manifestly excessive and the application for leave to appeal is therefore refused."
