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The FBI has arrested a man from Great Britain in Ohio who defrauded 150 elderly Americans out of 13 million US dollars with cold calls. The accused, Casey A., offered rare wines and whiskeys as investments in the name of the companies Windsor Jones, Charles Winn and Vintage Whisky Casks. Investigators from the FBI stated that the companies used "aggressive and deceptive tactics" to convince people to transfer money and promised them high profits to do so. For example, the Windsor Jones website promises "the purchase and sale of the world's most famous and enjoyable investment-quality Bordeaux wines". The site also includes a video in which master sommelier Ronan Sayburn discusses the best vintages. Sayburn told the FBI that the website had used the video without his permission and that he had not known about it until he was contacted by the press.
One of the victims, an 89-year-old from Ohio, wired A. more than $300,000 to invest in Sauternes sweet wines and to pay for a storage unit he allegedly rented in France, court documents show. Another victim paid $85,000 after being promised a possible return of up to 40 percent by reselling the wines in China. However, the return failed to materialise. Investigators from the FBI began to link the case to several similar scams across the US. The fraudster was finally arrested with the help of a potential investor.
(ru / Source: Decanter; Photo: 123rf.com)