[imagesource:priorityescapes.com]

The owner of Priority Escapes travel agency, Francois Swart, has been arrested after scores of criminal complaints were lodged against him for scamming would-be holidaymakers out of millions of rands.

The lobby group AfriForum has welcomed the arrest of the alleged holiday swindler who is said to have defrauded people out of their hard-earned cash in an elaborate Maldives holiday racket.

Swart is currently out on bail following his appearance in the Modimolle Magistrate’s Court in December.

AfriForum private prosecution unit spokesperson Barry Bateman said the law has finally caught up with Swart, adding that “although the conditions of his release on bail have not yet been established, AfriForum’s private prosecution unit is satisfied that the legal process to hold him accountable for his alleged offences is underway.”

In August last year, Swart’s company, Priority Escapes cancelled a few hundred people’s trips to the Maldives without warning despite receiving full payment. Swart had revealed in an email to these clients that his company would not be able to meet “the financial obligations”, never clarified anything about refunds, and deleted all social media pages for the company. Can you imagine that? Right before heading out for a relaxed vacation, nogal.

Image: X/AfriForum

IOL interviewed a Durban couple, now living in Dubai, who shared how they paid R63,046.95 for a holiday to the Maldives in September, which never actually materialised. The aggrieved would-be holidaymakers approached AfriForum to file a criminal complaint against Swart at the Modimolle police station in August last year.

According to the advocacy group, the complainants, Pamela-Anne Dolan and Bugs van Heerden, have welcomed news of Swart’s arrest; however, they have accepted that they will not be paid back the R130,000 that they paid for their non-existent holiday.

“We aren’t doing this for ourselves, but for all the people who have lost money. We believe it is a cut-and-dry case. We were issued with travel vouchers to show that our holiday had been booked when in fact there was no booking at all,” said Dolan.

Dolan and van Heerden said they transferred the money to the travel company and Swart sent them documents to confirm their flight and accommodation details, which all seem to have been forged.

In the letter to the SAPS in September, Adv. Gerrie Nel, head of the unit, set out the simplicity of the case. “The suspect received full payment from the complainants for him to fulfil holiday arrangements on their behalf. The misrepresentation was furthered when the suspect issued documents purporting that the holiday was arranged and paid in full. It has since been confirmed that the documents the complainants received are false,” said Nel.

Priority Escapes, previously situated in Fourways, Johannesburg, labelled itself as a Maldives specialist in South Africa. Fat chance now that the big boss is in the docks for being an alleged holiday swindler.

Swart will appear in court again on 23 February.

[source:afriforum&iol&citizen]