A British man has pleaded guilty in New York to involvement in a nearly $100 million wine fraud, where victims invested in loans for fictitious wealthy wine collectors whose wine also did not exist.
James Wellesley, 59, pleaded guilty Tuesday to wire fraud conspiracy before U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn. Wellesley, also known as Andrew Fuller, had previously pleaded not guilty to three charges including conspiracy in July. He remains jailed at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center after unsuccessfully fighting extradition from the United Kingdom.
According to his plea agreement, Wellesley could face 10 to 12-and-a-half years in prison under recommended federal guidelines. He has also agreed to forfeit $1 million plus funds in more than two dozen bank accounts.
Co-defendant Stephen Burton, 61, also British, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, and accepted a $26 million forfeiture order. He is also jailed in Brooklyn.
Prosecutors said Wellesley and Burton posed as executives at London- and Hong Kong-registered Bordeaux Cellars. They raised $99.4 million by promising loan investors regular interest payments from 'high net worth' wine collectors. The defendants allegedly claimed the loans were backed by an inventory of more than 25,000 bottles of wine, including from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and Chateau Lafleur. Prosecutors said Bordeaux Cellars controlled far fewer bottles, as few as 217, while the defendants used loan proceeds for personal expenses and to pay interest to some investors.
The scheme ran from June 2017 to February 2019, and collapsed when interest payments stopped. Burton's sentencing is scheduled for January 6, 2026, and Wellesley's sentencing is on February 3.
