Scammer convicted in $13m wine investment scam in US

British national Casey Alexander, 27, was sentenced to three years' probation by a US court in Ohio for his role in the wine investment scam, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver also ordered Alexander, of London, England, to pay $202,195.58 in restitution to victims for his role in the scheme.

More than 150 victims across the United States collectively invested more than $13 million in the wine and whiskey fraud scheme, according to what FBI investigators have uncovered so far, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio said.

Citing court documents, he said Alexander and others participated in a cold-calling operation targeting elderly investors.

“They used aggressive and deceptive tactics, and promised large returns if the victims participated in investments in wine and whiskey,” the prosecutor’s office said.

“They told the victims they could purchase a portfolio of fine wines and whiskies in their name and then hold the purchase in a bonded warehouse in Europe until it could be sold at a profit.”

The victims were convinced to transfer funds to one or more suspicious companies and were also encouraged to make other investments in order to obtain greater returns, the prosecutor's office said.

Suspicions were sparked in part by the son of a victim who contacted the Highland Heights Police Department to say his relative appeared to have been defrauded of more than $300,000 over an 18-month period.

After that complaint in 2020, the police department discovered similar complaints about possible wine investment scams in other parts of the United States, the prosecutor's office said.

He said the case had been investigated and prosecuted under the The Elder Justice Initiative program supports efforts to combat abuse, fraud and neglect, and added that Alexander's conviction came during Elder Abuse Awareness Month.

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