Lyne Barlow was sentenced to nine years at Durham Crown Court on 3 February 2023 after pleading guilty to the theft of £500,000, 10 counts of fraud and money laundering totalling more than £1.2m.

The former travel agent sold discounted holidays that she advertised on her Facebook page, convinced family and friends to loan her money under false pretences and stole around £500,000 from her mother.

In November 2019, after Barlow was fired from a travel agency, she set up her own independent travel agency on Facebook. On the page, she advertised discounted holiday packages to customers.