UK citizen James Wellesley appeared in a Brooklyn federal court this month after being extradited over an alleged ‘$99m wine fraud scheme’, said the US District Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Wellesley entered a plea of not guilty to charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, according to Reuters, which reported his age as 58.
He was detained pending trial, said the US Attorney’s Office. He joins co-defendant and fellow UK citizen Stephen Burton, 60, who previously also pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial after being extradited from Morocco in 2023.
Charges relate to their alleged operation of a company named Bordeaux Cellars to run an investment loan scheme backed by a stockpile of high-value wine that didn’t exist.
‘James Wellesley and his co-conspirator are accused of masterminding their nearly $100m international fraud scheme that exploited the unsuspecting public, including New Yorkers, for their own selfish enrichment,’ said Ricky J. Patel, special agent in charge, Homeland Security Investigations New York.
‘As alleged, the defendants claimed Bordeaux Cellars boasted a high-value wine stockpile and a clientele of “high-net-worth wine collectors” – and in turn profited handsomely – all while they swindled investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more,’ Patel said.
It is alleged that, from at least June 2017 to February 2019, the pair brokered loans between investors and wine collectors, claiming that the high-value bottles would be held as collateral.
However, the defendants are accused of using incoming loan proceeds to make fraudulent interest payments to investors and for their own personal expenses, ‘resulting in $99m million dollars’ worth of misdirected funds’.
If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison. The Attorney’s Office said the charges remain allegations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
