US court punishes British man on alcohol investment scam

A man was recently sentenced by an Ohio court for his involvement in a wine and whiskey scam, according to a report. British-American Alexander pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

 The court ordered the sentence for Alexander  to three years of probation and  directed to pay back a combined $202,195.58 to his victims. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio confirmed that the FBI, through its investigation, discovered more than 150 U.S. victims had contributed over $13 million to the fraudulent scheme.

Alexander set up three individual companies which he then used to obtain the phone numbers of elderly Americans, cold calling them and convincing victims to invest in the scam. He encouraged the victims to wire money to one or more of Alexander's three companies, and were further encouraged to invest greater sums of cash to secure larger returns.

Alexander and his co-conspirators “used aggressive and deceptive tactics, and promised large returns if the victims participated in wine and whiskey investments,” the Attorney’s Office explained. “They told victims that they could buy a portfolio of fine wines and whiskeys on their behalf, and then hold the purchase in a bonded warehouse located in Europe until sold for a profit.”