'Goldfinger' facing £3.8m claim

Many of Palmer's victims are pensioners

Timeshare fraudster John 'Goldfinger' Palmer faces a claim for £3.8m as lawyers for some of his victims start bankruptcy proceedings against him.

Palmer, 53, was sentenced to eight years in prison in May 2001 after he was convicted of fraudulently selling timeshares to more than 16,000 people.

In May, the High Court awarded 350 clients of law firm Irwin Mitchell an average of £11,000 each.

Palmer was also ordered to pay legal costs of £1.4m but has so far refused.

Virtually worthless

Alun Owens, of Irwin Mitchell, said: "This is a positive move to retrieve the money Palmer reportedly has and to compensate the many people he duped.

"We have begun bankruptcy proceedings and we will be appointing a trustee to investigate Palmer's assets and gather them in order to pay creditors."

Palmer, from Bath, was said at one stage to be worth an estimated £300m.

Many of his victims are pensioners who bought timeshare apartments in Tenerife.