A British man has been extradited to the United States to face federal charges in what prosecutors describe as a US$99 million fraudulent investment scheme involving high-end wines. James Wellesley, 58, appeared in a Brooklyn federal courtroom on Friday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering. He remains in custody pending trial.
Wellesley was arrested in the United Kingdom in 2022 and was brought to the U.S. this week. His co-defendant, 60-year-old Stephen Burton, was previously extradited from Morocco in 2023 after allegedly entering the country with a fake Zimbabwean passport. Burton also pleaded not guilty and remains detained.
According to prosecutors, the two men operated a company called Bordeaux Cellars, which they claimed brokered loans between investors and wealthy wine collectors. These loans were said to be secured by valuable wine collections. From 2017 to 2019, they raised approximately $99 million from investors in New York and elsewhere, promising attractive returns through interest payments.
However, authorities say the entire operation was a Ponzi-style fraud. The wine collectors were fictitious, no actual loans were made, and Bordeaux Cellars never possessed any wine to back the supposed investments. Instead, Wellesley and Burton are accused of using the money to enrich themselves and to make fake interest payments to earlier investors in order to sustain the illusion of a legitimate enterprise.
If convicted, both men face up to 20 years in prison.