THE crown court trial of four people charged in connection with an alleged timeshare fraud is likely to start in Bournemouth tomorrow.

Prosecutors claim the alleged fraud spanned around five years and involved “hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

Yesterday, defendants Francis ‘Frank’ Madden, aged 60, of Wellington Road, Bournemouth; Claire Garland, of Wood View, Wimborne; Keith Furneval, of Suffolk Road, Bournemouth; and Jean Furneval, aged 60, of Wellington Road, Bournemouth, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court as the process to select jurors in the case got underway.

The quartet were charged in July 2017 in connection with the alleged fraud. The trial is scheduled to last at least six weeks.

Jean Furneval is charged with participating in a fraudulent business carried out by a sole trader and carrying on the business of a company with intent to defraud creditors or for other purposes.

The charges relate to a time between August 2011 and September 2014 and refer to the company Central Marketing Limited.

Keith Furneval is accused of a single charge of carrying on the business of company Glenleigh Ltd with intent to defraud, namely by offering free weekends in return for attending a presentation, taking advance fees for accommodation which were not refunded, selling holiday club memberships with no discernible value and requesting additional fees to administer credit.

Both Garland and Madden are charged with participating in a fraudulent business carried on by a sole trader, three counts of carrying on the business of a company with intent to defraud creditors or for other fraudulent purpose, between May 2012 and September 2014, relating to Central Marketing Ltd, Glenleigh Ltd and Reco Corp Ltd. The pair are also facing seven counts of being a trader and failing to draw the provisions to the attention of a consumer, and seven counts of accepting consideration from a consumer before the end of the withdrawal period, and concealing, disguising, converting, transferring or removing criminal property.