A UK man has been placed on three years' probation for a $13 million wine and whiskey scam that affected more than 150 victims, many of them elderly, in the United States.
More than two years after his arrest, Casey Alexander, 27, from London, has been sentenced after pleading guilty to internet fraud.
In a massive fraud scheme, Alexander and others involved in the conspiracy contacted people, mostly targeting elderly investors in the United States, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
Officials said they would use “aggressive” and “misleading” tactics during the calls, promising victims huge returns if they invested in wine and whiskey.
The scammers told victims they could buy a “portfolio” of fine wine and whiskey on their behalf, then keep the purchases in a bonded warehouse in Europe, and then sell them for a profit.
Alexander and his team were able to convince seniors across the United States to wire money or write checks to one or more “suspect companies” so they could get a piece of the investment opportunities they were offering.
After victims made their initial investments, the scammers encouraged them to continue investing in wine and whiskey, with the promise of greater returns.
In a promotional video obtained by the Daily Mail, a person identified by investigators as Alexander, from Hackney, in east London, is seen wearing a smart suit while tasting whiskey and touring the exterior of the distillery of his company Vintage Whiskey Casks. The company claims to “specialize in sourcing the most difficult to find and rarest casks of Scotch whisky,” according to the newspaper.
However, the racket was disbanded after the victim's 89-year-old son told the Highland Heights Police Department in 2020 that his father had been defrauded, and that the company had defrauded the victim of more than $300,000 over the course of 18 months.
The department then discovered similar complaints spread across the United States, with people reporting they were victims of a “wine scam” after being asked to buy wine as an investment.
The FBI has taken over the case, and has so far identified more than 150 American victims. In total, the victims invested more than $13 million in the scam.
At the time of Alexander's arrest on June 14, 2022 (he was later released on $50,000 bail), the FBI said none of the victims had received their tax returns.
Among those, a 73-year-old woman from Grandville, Michigan, transferred $25,560 thinking she was investing in rare wines, according to an affidavit. After promising her money back, she invested another $60,000 in the scheme, saying the person seemed too convincing, NBC News reported in 2022.
Court documents say Alexander met with an investor in person to convince him to buy from Vintage Whiskey Casks. The affidavit says the victim sent a check for $100,000, but the check was canceled in time after BFI contacted the victim.
In addition to his probation, the U.S. District Judge ordered Alexander to pay $202,195.58 in damages for his role in the fraud.
