STEPHEN BURTON, Wire Fraud Conspiracy, New York 2023

BROOKLYN, NY – In a major win for law enforcement, Stephen Burton, a 58-year-old citizen of the United Kingdom, was arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn yesterday morning on an indictment charging him with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. The charges stem from a scheme perpetrated through Bordeaux Cellars, a company Burton operated.

According to the indictment, from at least June 2017 and continuing through February 2019, Burton and his co-defendant, James Wellesley, posed as executives at Bordeaux Cellars and solicited investors, including residents of the Eastern District of New York, at investor conferences held in the United States and overseas. The defendants claimed to investors that Bordeaux Cellars brokered loans between investors and high-net-worth wine collectors that would be fully collateralized by high-value collections of wine.

The indictment alleges that these representations were lies, the "high-net-worth wine collectors" did not actually exist, and Bordeaux Cellars did not maintain custody of the wine purportedly securing the loans. Instead, the defendants used incoming loan proceeds to make fraudulent interest payments to investors and for their own personal expenses.

Burton was extradited to the Eastern District of New York from Morocco, where he was arrested in 2022 after entering the country using a false Zimbabwean passport. His co-defendant, James Wellesley, remains in extradition proceedings in the United Kingdom.

"This prosecution sends a message to all perpetrators of global fraud that you can run from law enforcement, but not forever," stated Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "With the successful extradition of Burton to the Eastern District of New York, he will now taste justice for the fine wines scheme alleged in the indictment."

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendants each face up to 20 years in prison.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Elbert and Benjamin Weintraub are in charge of the prosecution.

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