Current:Home > ContactBritish man pleads not guilty in alleged $99 million wine fraud conspiracy -Wealth Legacy Solutions
British man pleads not guilty in alleged $99 million wine fraud conspiracy
View
Date:2025-04-13 08:11:51
NEW YORK (AP) — A British man pleaded not guilty in a New York courtroom Saturday in connection with an alleged $99 million, Ponzi-like fraud involving high-priced fine wine and duped investors.
Stephen Burton, 58, was extradited Friday to New York from Morocco, where he was arrested in 2022 after using a bogus Zimbabwean passport to enter that country, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace’s office said.
Burton was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court on Saturday and pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. He is detained without bail pending his next court hearing on Jan. 22.
“These are all allegations, and we will defend them vigorously,” Burton’s lawyer, John Wallenstein, said. “We’re going to wait for the discovery and examine the evidence very carefully.”
Prosecutors said Burton and another British man, James Wellesley, 56, ran a company called Bordeaux Cellars, which they said brokered loans between investors and wealthy wine collectors that were secured by their wine collections. They solicited $99 million in investments from residents of New York and other areas from 2017 to 2019, telling them they would profit from interest on the loans, authorities said.
But prosecutors alleged the operation was a scam. They said the wealthy wine collectors did not exist, no loans were made, and Bordeaux Cellars did not have custody of the wine securing the loans. Instead, officials said, Burton and Wellesley used loan money provided by investors for themselves and to make fraudulent interest payments to other investors.
“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,” Peace said in a statement. “This prosecution sends a message to all perpetrators of global fraud that you can run from law enforcement, but not forever.”
Wellesley is in the United Kingdom facing extradition proceedings, officials said. It was not immediately clear if he has a lawyer who could respond to the allegations.
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Who are the victims in Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse? What we know about those missing and presumed dead
- NCAA President Charlie Baker urges state lawmakers to ban prop betting on college athletes
- Best remaining NFL free agents: Ranking 20 top players available, led by Justin Simmons
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- Christina Applegate says she has 30 lesions on her brain amid MS battle
- Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, given chance to appeal against U.S. extradition by U.K. court
- 'Why wouldn't we?' Caitlin Clark offered $5 million by Ice Cube's BIG 3 league
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Man in custody after fatal shooting of NYPD officer during traffic stop: Reports
Ranking
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise to get a reboot, says producer Jerry Bruckheimer
- More teens would be tried in adult courts for gun offenses under Kentucky bill winning final passage
- West Virginia animal shelter pleads for help fostering dogs after truck crashes into building
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- YouTuber Ninja Shares Skin Cancer Diagnosis
- US Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire won’t seek reelection for a seventh term in November
- MyPillow, owned by election denier Mike Lindell, faces eviction from Minnesota warehouse
Recommendation
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
Macaulay Culkin Shares Sweet Tribute to Best Friend Brenda Song
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Middle of the Road
Man in custody after fatal shooting of NYPD officer during traffic stop: Reports
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
Man arrested after multiple women say they were punched in face while walking on NYC streets
Sean Diddy Combs Investigation: What Authorities Found in Home Raids
Collapse of Baltimore's Key is latest bridge incident of 2024 after similar collisions in China, Argentina