Casey Alexander pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a wine and whiskey investment scam that targeted elderly Americans.
Alexander called elderly people, mostly in the United States, and successfully scammed large sums of money out of them by promising them big profits by investing in fine wine and whiskey.
His allegations came to light in 2020 when the victim’s son, who was 89 years old at the time, reported his father to Highland Heights, Ohio police, saying he had been defrauded out of $300,000 over an 18-month period.
Subsequent FBI investigations revealed that Alexander had in fact defrauded over 150 individuals who collectively invested over $13 million into his scheme. Some reports suggest that Alexander, a British national, used his accent to charm his victims into handing over their money. He met in person with at least one victim to convince him to invest in a barrel of whiskey, but a check for $100,000 was supposedly canceled shortly after the FBI notified the budding investor.
Alexander was arrested by the FBI two years ago, in June 2022. He was released shortly thereafter on $50,000 bail.
“They are [Alexander and the others involved in the scheme] Using aggressive and deceptive tactics, they promised their victims huge profits if they would join them in investing in wine and whiskey. They told their victims that they would purchase portfolios of fine wines and whiskeys on their behalf and store them in bonded warehouses in Europe until they could sell them for a profit.”
“Alexander and his team persuaded victims across the country to participate in investment opportunities by transferring money or writing checks to one or more questionable companies,” the statement continued. “After the initial investment was made, victims were encouraged and eventually persuaded to continue investing to secure larger profits.”
Alexander pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years’ probation by U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver and was also ordered to pay $202,195.58 in restitution to the victims for his role in the fraud scheme.
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