A con man who operated a wine scamming operation in the UK has been sent to prison.
Spyros Constantinos, 44, was sentenced to eight years after his five-year plot was uncovered. He fooled a number of professional people into parting with money by promising high returns on ‘fine Bordeaux wine’.
Instead of buying wine as advertised, Constantinos used the money to advance a wealthy personal lifestyle, including trips to Harrods and Selfridges, private education fees for his two children, and family holidays abroad.
Would-be investors, including a doctor and a vicar, were reeled in with promises of returns varying from nearly 9% to as high as 50%, advertised in glossy brochures. A string of companies were set up using different names as part of the sting, the court heard, as well as a bank account in Spain.
That account enabled Constantinos to continue trading after a 2008 conviction for running a fraudulent wine investment scheme.
Potential investors are encouraged to check online with Companies House to see if the business has a genuine registration and VAT number as well as looking to see if a director has been disqualified.
British investors lose £1.2bn a year in investment scams. Wine investments, share sales, "land banking" and carbon credits are popular scams, according to Action Fraud, the national body run by the police.
Wine investments in particular are taken up by fraudsters as the industry is little regulated. With no official rules to protect savers if a firm becomes insolvent or acts illegally, investors have no access to compensation or redress.
In court, the accused said his business was legitimate, but that he had been let down by his supplier. But he would found guilty at the Old Bailey on 10 offences related to the fraud.
