NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) – A British man pleaded guilty on Tuesday in New York to involvement in a nearly $100 million fraud whose victims invested in loans meant for fictitious wealthy wine collectors whose wine also did not exist.
James Wellesley, 59, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy before U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn, court records show.
Sign up here.
Wellesley, also known as Andrew Fuller, had pleaded not guilty to three charges including conspiracy in July. He remains jailed at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, after unsuccessfully fighting extradition from Britain.
A lawyer for Wellesley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to his plea agreement, Wellesley could face 10 to 12-1/2 years in prison under recommended federal guidelines.
He also agreed to forfeit $1 million plus funds in more than two dozen bank accounts.
Co-defendant Stephen Burton, 61, who is 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, posing as executives at London- and Hong Kong-registered Bordeaux Cellars, raised $99.4 million by promising loan investors they would receive regular interest payments from
UK man pleads guilty in New York to $99 million wine fraud
