A former travel company director who defrauded dozens of clients out of almost £300,000 through fraudulent luxury holiday bookings has been jailed after a court heard he used part of the money to cover private school fees for his children.Shelley Simpson, 46, ran Portsmouth-based Sphere Events Ltd between 2019 and 2022, promising clients premium holidays, discounted rates on flights and special events. But prosecutors said many of the bookings either never existed or were never paid for, causing families to cancel trips and suffer huge financial losses, The Telegraph reports.Portsmouth Crown Court heard that 47 customers were affected by the fraud, with complaints later handed to Hampshire Police and Portsmouth Trading Standards.Simpson was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison on Wednesday after admitting fraudulent trading. He was also banned from serving as a company director for eight years.Judge William Ashworth described his behavior as a long-running “dance of deception” and told the court that his “relentless” lying showed a “callous disregard” for the distress caused to his victims.The court heard Simpson regularly reassured customers that their money was safe and claimed he had access to special discounts through industry contacts. In one case, she told a customer she could arrange lower rates at a Ritz hotel because she knew the manager.However, prosecutors said the business operated similar to a “Ponzi scheme”, where money from new customers was used to pay off old debts rather than pay for actual bookings.One victim, Jodie Stallard, transferred more than £37,000 to pay for a Barbados family holiday and additional excursions after Simpson assured her the travel arrangements had been made.The court later heard that despite confirmation messages allegedly being sent to reassure the family, the holiday was never actually booked.Duncan Milne, prosecuting, said Simpson repeatedly created fake booking confirmations and falsified documents to trick customers into believing their journeys had been secured.He told the court that clients’ money was often diverted elsewhere, including to pay for the school fees of Simpson’s children, who attend a private school, which costs around £18,000 a year.Investigators later learned that Simpson had searched for “jail for fraud” online before his arrest in November 2022.The police also noted the renovation work being done at his property during the investigation.The court heard Simpson had previously received a warning in 2016 for transferring £4,500 from the school where she worked as an office manager.Defense attorney Robert Bryan argued that Simpson was not funding a lavish lifestyle and was instead trapped in a cycle of using new payments to cover old commitments.“She was robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he told the court. He also said that he seemed to get satisfaction from organizing experiences for others.Bryan also said that Simpson, who has bipolar disorder, has shown remorse for his actions.About 20 victims were present in the courtroom during Simpson’s sentencing.