Brit conman admits role in brazen £75million vintage wine fraud

A British conman has admitted his role in a brazen £75 million fraud where investors were promised huge returns on loans supposedly secured against rare vintage wines - none of which existed

James Wellesley pleaded guilty in a New York courtroom to wire fraud conspiracy in connection with the elaborate global scam. The 59-year-old, who also went by the names Andrew Fuller and Andrew Templar, entered his plea before US District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn.

He now faces up to 12 and a half years behind bars under federal sentencing guidelines. He has also agreed to hand over £745,000 and funds held across more than two dozen bank accounts. Wellesley is being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre after failing to block extradition from the UK.

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His lawyer declined to comment. His co-accused, Stephen Burton, 61, also from Britain, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.

Wellesley, a disbarred British lawyer, accepted a £19.4 million forfeiture order and is also behind bars in New York.

According to US prosecutors, the pair posed as executives of a bogus company called Bordeaux Cellars, which they used to promote the fraudulent investment scheme between 2017 and 2019. They travelled the globe, from London to New York, pitching their fantasy operation at high-end investment conferences, convincing victims that their loans were secured against a luxury collection of vintage wines.

The supposed wine portfolio included world-famous bottles such as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, a Burgundy listed online for £12,600, and Château Lafleur from Bordeaux, valued at £3,730 a bottle.

But according to prosecutors, neither the collectors nor the wine existed.

Instead, Wellesley and Burton allegedly operated a Ponzi-style scam, using money from new investors to pay fake “returns” to earlier ones, while pocketing millions for themselves.

Assistant FBI Director Christopher Raia previously said: “James Wellesley and his business partner allegedly concocted an elaborate scheme defrauding investors out of millions of dollars to finance their own personal expenses.

“Their alleged deceit spread across years and continents.”

Homeland Security special agent Ricky Patel added: “James Wellesley and his co-conspirator are accused of masterminding their nearly $100 million (£75 million) international fraud scheme that exploited the unsuspecting public, including New Yorkers, for their own selfish enrichment.

“As alleged, 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.”

Patel warned that law enforcement would continue to pursue global financial fraudsters, saying: “Let it be known, regardless of the nature of the transnational criminal scheme, HSI New York, alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to adapt and evolve to fight global and domestic financial crimes wherever and whenever possible.”

Burton was arrested in Morocco in 2022 after trying to enter the country on a fake Zimbabwean passport and extradited to the US in December 2023. Burton's sentencing is scheduled for January 6, 2026, and Wellesley's sentencing is on February 3, court records show.