NEW YORK (WPIX) — A man from the United Kingdom has been forced back to New York to face charges of fraud and money laundering through a wine business, according to ICE Homeland Security Investigations in New York.
The 56-year-old British national James Wellesley is accused of using his business with Bordeaux Cellars to collect loan payments from investors for non-existent products and customers, authorities with Homeland Security Investigations say. Instead, ICE alleges that he pocketed $99 million worth of funds.
“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,” said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel.
According to the indictment, the alleged scheme ran from at least June 2017 through February 2019, with Wellesley and his co-conspirator, Stephen Burton, allegedly posing as executives of Bordeaux Cellars and soliciting investors at conferences both in the United States and overseas.
During that time, the pair allegedly brokered loans from investors and promised them interest payments from borrowers who were “high-net-worth wine collectors.” However, neither the collectors nor the wines were real. Instead, it’s alleged the defendants used the proceeds from the loans to make fake interest payments and pocketed the rest.
The U.K. citizen and his co-defendant face charges of wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Burton is pending trial after being extradited from Morocco in 2023, according to authorities.
If convicted, ICE says Wellesley and Burton could face up to 20 years in prison.
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