The British, who had been in hiding from Lithuania for many years, were imprisoned in Vilnius: hundreds of people lost their money

Judge Linas Dūdys, who examined the criminal case, in which the former officer, architect and Guy Jane, who currently runs his company in Great Britain, was charged not only with fraud but also with illicit activities and falsification, stated that the data collected during the investigation and the trial that the accused committed the criminal offenses with which he is charged.

The trial judge ruled that Mr Jane had committed the crime while acting in a group of accomplices, although he pleaded guilty and said he was sorry, but this could not be considered sincere remorse, as the British only did so on the basis of evidence gathered by law enforcement agencies. Furthermore, the judge noted that a large number of people had been affected by Jane and suffered very serious damage.

Mr Jane was sentenced by a court to 6 years and 6 months in prison, but reduced by a third (the case was tried by an abbreviated procedure): a British citizen would have to spend 4 years and 4 months behind bars.

In addition, the convict received civil lawsuits to compensate the victims, almost 70 thousand. euros.

According to the court, G. Jane established the company “Holiday Warehouse” from 2010. November to 2011 In July, the Republic of Lithuania concluded up to 126 agreements on the provision of hotel accommodation services in various parts of the world.

The now-bankrupt company is estimated to have caused more than € 73,000 in losses to people planning a vacation, with people paying for vacations in Spain, Malta, Thailand, Cyprus and the Caribbean.

Furthermore, in late June, the court found Jane guilty in another fraud case, from 2010. July to 2011 In June, Mr. Jane ran another company, Amber Promotions. He also offered people to buy accommodation in various tourist hotels: the court determined that 59 spouses had suffered for the businessman, losing more than 44 thousand. EUR.

G. Jane, who founded the “Holiday Warehouse”, hid from the Lithuanian police in Great Britain, was extradited for prosecution in December last year; the extradition process in London lasted even two and a half years; the suspect was hated throughout this period.

Due to crimes in which money was fraudulently cheated from vacationers, already in 2017 Nerijus Ereminas, the director of the Holiday Warehouse, was also convicted in April; he also hid abroad for a long time. And when he was arrested in Cyprus and tried in Vilnius, he admitted that the activities of the company he ran were “designed primarily to attract people’s money.”

The prosecution also wanted to prosecute Angelo Franko Spiter, a Maltese citizen and Australian resident in Malta, for fraud, but the Constitutional Court of Malta refused to extradite him to Lithuania due to poor detention conditions in our country.

According to the case file, Vilnius-registered companies Amber promotions and Atukšų sandėlis in various parts of Lithuania offered to buy in advance at the most luxurious hotels and apartments at any time of the year; People were invited to presentations at hotels and restaurants. Information on perhaps the best places to stay.

Although prices weren’t low, there was no shortage of interested individuals – officials in the pre-trial investigation found that 126 families were affected by Holiday Warehouse and 59 families were affected by Amber’s promotions.

The directors of these companies charged people for alleged hotel accommodation. As a result, the company rented a premises in Vilnius and hired employees, managers who, unaware of the crime that was being committed, invited people to attend travel presentations during telephone conversations.

During presentations at various hotels and restaurants, managers had to persuade people to sign accommodation contracts in foreign hotels; Until customers changed their minds, they immediately had to sign service contracts and withdraw cash.

Although clients were promised they could terminate the contract within seven days of signing, people who went to the police for help said they did not have that opportunity.

Many victims complained that it was only when they returned home that they read negative comments about the company online, but still could not contact its employees.

And some applied only before the planned trip; then they were hit by the real shock, because they realized that they do not have and will not have accommodation, unless they reserve themselves in other ways.

When the police opened a pre-trial investigation into the fraud, company executives justified to the media that many clients had gone abroad and that others might seize the opportunity. But this is a lie: company executives rushed abroad.

In court, N. Eremin, who ran the company, admitted that the “Holiday Warehouse” was created specifically to cheat people out of money.

“The business of the company was to provide accommodation, money was taken from people, but they did not go on trips; I just did a bad job as director of the company, so I am responsible for people being misled,” he said.

Eremin also recognized that the main purpose of the Holiday Warehouse was to attract people’s money.

G. Jane, a British citizen who founded the company at that time, was brought to Lithuania only on December 19 last year, and he was arrested all this time because he could hide. It is true that the indicted businessman did not agree to the preventive measure, but the court noted that the British citizen has no economic, social and family ties with Lithuania: he has no real estate, permanent residence, work in Lithuania and the members of his family live in the UK. In the kingdom.

In denouncing the arrest, Mr Jane pointed out that he had a wife and 13 children in the UK, 4 of whom were minors, so contact with his family was particularly necessary, but the Vilnius judges noted that “ this circumstance did not deter the accused from allegedly committing criminal conduct. possible crimes “.

Following the conviction, Andriej Melkov, a lawyer representing Mr. Jane, did not hide the fact that an appeal would be lodged against the court’s decision. Briton also appealed the verdict in another case.