Brits charged in New York over $100 million wine fraud
Two British men, Stephen Burton and James Wellesley have been charged with defrauding people into investing nearly £100 million in loans that were claimed to be backed by wine supposedly brokered by their company Bordeaux Cellars.
US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement These defendants duped investors by offering them an intoxicating investment opportunity collateralized by valuable bottles of fine wine that turned out to be too good to be true.
Wellesley was arrested on 4 February 2022 in the United Kingdom, while Burton remains at large. Both face up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud, that is, financial fraud involving the use of telecommunications or information technology.