Stephen Burton, the alleged mastermind behind a purported fine-wine investment strategy, which authorities describe as a $100 million Ponzi scheme, has been extradited to the U.S. to face criminal charges. The 58-year-old from the U.K. was transported from Morocco to New York on Friday, where he faces charges of money laundering and wire fraud related to a years-long scheme involving non-existent high-yield loans backed by ultra-expensive wines.
Burton, known for using aliases including Andrew Pittman, Robert Allison, and Derek Campbell, was apprehended in Morocco in 2022 after entering the country with a fake Zimbabwean passport. His co-defendant, James Wellesley, 56, was arrested in the U.K. around the same time and has been awaiting extradition.
The prosecution claims that between 2017 and 2019, Burton led Bordeaux Cellars, a U.K. and Hong Kong-based investment scheme. This strategy involved pooling funds for high-yield lending against high-priced wines used as collateral. Burton and Wellesley reportedly amassed a collection of expensive wines in a London storage facility, valued at millions.
The scheme reportedly accumulated $99.4 million in investments, with $8.2 million going missing when it collapsed in February 2019.
Burton and Wellesley allegedly approached wine enthusiasts at investor conferences and sales shows, offering a scheme promising 12% interest from loans to wealthy individuals needing quick cash. They assured that loans would not exceed 35% of the wine’s value and that defaulting borrowers’ wine would be sold, ensuring no losses to investors. They claimed to have lent out $152 million in such loans over six years.
However, investigators discovered that Bordeaux Cellars possessed far less wine than claimed, with most of the funds being used to pay earlier investors and support the accused’s lavish lifestyles.
Burton’s initial arrest in England in 2019 led to the discovery of gold ingots and coins, expensive watches, banking cards, lottery tickets, cash, and false identification documents. Released from jail in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns, Burton then allegedly fled the U.K. using the false Zimbabwean passport.
