Multi-Million Dollar Loan Scheme Exposed in Brooklyn Federal Court

An indictment was filed yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn charging Stephen Burton and James Wellesley, both citizens of the United Kingdom, with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy in connection with a scheme perpetrated through their company, Bordeaux Cellars, the trade name for two private limited companies, Bordeaux Cellars, Limited and Bordeaux Cellars London Ltd., registered, respectively, in Hong Kong and London, England.

Wellesley was arrested on February 4, 2022 in the United Kingdom and Burton remains at large.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the charges.

“Unlike the fine wine they purported to possess, the defendants’ repeated lies to investors did not age well. As alleged, 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,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office and our law enforcement partners will work to protect investors from deceptive schemes and ensure that loans that are financed with investor funds are not stolen by fraudsters.”

“Burton and Wellesley, as alleged, lied to their victims to get them to invest in what ended up being a nearly $100 million scheme. Today’s indictment brings their criminal activity to light and reminds other like-minded criminals that illegal investment fraud schemes won’t be overlooked,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.

The indictment alleges that from at least June 2017 and continuing through February of 2019, the defendants posed as executives of a company called Bordeaux Cellars. The defendants 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.

Defendant Information:

Defendant: Stephen Burton

Age: 57

Nationality: United Kingdom

Defendant: James Wellesley

Age: 55

Nationality: United Kingdom

Charges:

Wire Fraud Conspiracy

Wire Fraud

Money Laundering Conspiracy

Date of Arrest: February 4, 2022 (Wellesley)

Status: At Large (Burton)

Estimated Loss: $100 million

Potential Sentence: Up to 20 years in prison if convicted

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