A con artist from London has been told he is looking at a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of his part in a $13million fraud involving rare wine and whisky.

Casey Alexander from Stoke Newington set up three companies which obtained the private telephone numbers of a number of elderly Americans; the scam would then involve using high-pressure selling techniques on the selected victims, offering them the chance to own rare vintages or to buy premium wines they could then sell on to Chinese investors. In total around 150 victims wired cash: at present, only $250,000 of the $13million has been recovered.

One of the businesses, Windsor Jones, offered “the acquisition and sale of the world’s most illustrious and pleasurable Bordeaux investment grade fine wine”. One 89-year-old from Ohio was taken in, wiring $300,000 to pay for wine and storage locker in France.

The whisky side of the fraud saw Alexander fronting a promotional video giving potential ‘investors’ a virtual tour of an actual distillery. They would be offered the chance to invest in the Scotch whisky market with access to rare single malts: people were duped into forwarding funds but received nothing in return.

The victims who complained were met with excuses before the son of the man from Ohio raised the issue with the police, who in turn contacted the FBI. It was then that investigators connected the case with other frauds in the US with a sting set up, the FBI using a convicted fraudster as potential investor. After some work by the FBI’s fraudster, it was discovered that Alexander would be visiting Cleveland, Ohio, and he was arrested on his arrival in June 2022.

The FBI then discovered the extent of the scam amounted to around $13million, Alexander pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud at a US District Court in Ohio. He will be sentenced on July 11.