Ben Cazaly, 42, Greg Assemakis, 39, and Dominic D’Sa, 45, were all convicted of fraudulent trading at St Albans Crown Court on August 5, and the trio have now been sentenced.
Cazaly was sentenced to six and a half years imprisonment, Assemakis was put behind bars for three and a half years, and D’Sa was jailed four and a half years.
They were part of a complex wine fraud run by Imperial Wine & Spirits Merchant Ltd, previously Imperial Wines of London Ltd, which was uncovered during an investigation by Hertfordshire Trading Standards.
It was revealed that £6 million had been invested by 41 victims from across the UK with more than half of that amount lost, while £37 million passed through the company accounts of the business during the 10 years that they were trading.
The fraudsters conned hundreds of consumers out of their hard-earned cash and life savings by convincing them to invest in fine Bordeaux wine such as Chateau Mouton Rothschild.
They then lied to customers by claiming the company didn’t make any money until they sold the wine at a profit for the customer, but they marked the initial price up so high, sometimes more than 400 per cent, that for many investors, it would never increase in value over that price and some customers lost hundreds of thousands of pounds as a result.
While the majority of the wine did exist and was kept in bonded warehouses, a number of victims have no wine at all despite paying thousands of pounds.
Cazaly founded the company in 2008, claiming it to be a legitimate, family-run investment house in fine wine with offices in City of London, Paris and Hong Kong and personal suppliers in the chateaux and vineyards of Bordeaux.
The reality was in fact a group of young people in a call centre, working from scripts to cold call, lie and manipulate largely vulnerable and trusting pensioners.
Tactics such as hiring luxury taxis, wining and dining their victims, who were often recently bereaved or lonely, and sending out glossy brochures purporting to be a well-respected company were also commonplace.
Trading Standards officers raided the office building where the fraudsters were operating from in Groveland Court, London, on November 8, 2018, and found a mantra on the wall stating ‘no means yes’.
A large number of items that were seized and presented as evidence during the trial including sales call recordings, a ‘Wine for Dummies’ book, scripts, commission sheets and complaint letters from customers.
Cllr Ajanta Hilton, executive member for community safety at Hertfordshire County Council said: ”The stories of those targeted with this investment scam are devastating.
“Not only have they lost hard earned life savings, but the emotional impact this scam has had on them and their family members has been significant.
“I’d like to thank them for their bravery in telling their stories so that these callous criminals could be brought to justice.
“A six-and-a-half-year sentence sends a message to anyone thinking of getting involved in this kind of criminality – we will investigate you and we will bring you before a court to protect our residents consumer rights.”
Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, added: “This case exposed shocking levels of greed. Fraudsters promised sky-high profits, only to manipulate their victims into handing over significant amounts of money they would never realistically see a return on.
“The gang’s victims – who were often older people who had put their life savings into the fraudulent scheme – were pressured with pushy sales calls and slick promotional materials that were designed to build trust. The financial and emotional impact of these tactics were significant.
“I hope the sentence handed down today sends a clear signal that this kind of fraud comes with severe consequences.
“If you think you may have been scammed or know someone who has report it to the Citizens Advice consumer service helpline by calling 0808 223 1133.”
