Latest news with #GregoryAssemakis
Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Pensioners scammed out of £6m in wine investment fraud
Three men have been convicted for a fraudulent investment scheme that stole £6m from 41 victims. Benjamin Cazaly, 42, and Gregory Assemakis, 39, both from Kent, alongside Dominic D'Sa, 45, from London, were found guilty of fraudulent trading on Tuesday at St Albans Crown Court. Imperial Wine & Spirits Merchants, founded as Imperial Wines of London by Cazaly, is believed to have handled £37m during the 10 years it was trading, according to Hertfordshire Trading Standards. It added that victims were scammed into investing their life savings into the wine industry before being overcharged – sometimes by over 400 per cent. It is believed that the men used films to learn manipulation techniques such as cold calling and following scripts to persuade pensioners to hand over their money. Victims were also sent brochures featuring logos from The Telegraph and the Financial Times without permission. 'No means yes' The company, which claimed to be a family-run investment house with offices in Paris and Hong Kong, was actually based in a call centre in Groveland Court, central London. Trading Standards raided the building in 2018, finding mantras such as 'no means yes' on the wall. Hertfordshire council said the jury heard a recording in which a woman was asked for her card details despite not knowing what a payment card was. Trish Burls, from National Trading Standards, said: 'Victims in this case lost thousands of pounds through a co-ordinated scam of lies, deceit and manipulation. 'The criminals exploited people's passion and enthusiasm, preying on them to invest while stripping many of their life savings and causing significant emotional distress.' Ajanta Hilton, executive member for community safety at Hertfordshire county council, said: 'The stories of those targeted with this investment scam are devastating. 'I'd like to thank them for their bravery in telling their stories so that these callous criminals could be brought to justice.'
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
Wine fraudsters stole £6m from confused pensioners
Three men who stole at least £6m from 41 victims using a fraudulent wine investment scheme have been Cazaly, 42, Gregory Assemakis, 39, both from Kent, alongside Dominic D'Sa, 45, from London, were found guilty of fraudulent trading on Tuesday at St Albans Crown investigation by Hertfordshire Trading Standards found £37m passed through Imperial Wine & Spirits Merchants' accounts during the 10 years it was said the long-running scam saw pensioners convinced to give their life savings to wine investments but were overcharged, sometimes by over 400%. Investors were told the company did not make money unless the wine was sold at a profit. The company was founded by Cazaly in 2008 under the name Imperial Wines of claimed to be a family-run investment house with international offices in Paris and Hong reality, it was a call centre in an office building in Groveland Court, London, which was raided by trading standards in November mantra "no means yes" was written on the wall, and they used films such as The Wolf of Wall Street to learn manipulation callers using fake names followed scripts to persuade pensioners to hand over their money; these were found when the office was were sent glossy brochures that used logos from the Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times without Council said the jury was played a recording where a confused woman was asked for payment card details despite not knowing what a card was or who she banked with. Trish Burls from National Trading Standards said: "Victims in this case lost thousands of pounds through a co-ordinated scam of lies, deceit and manipulation. "The criminals exploited people's passion and enthusiasm, preying on them to invest while stripping many of their life savings and causing significant emotional Hilton, executive member for community safety at Hertfordshire County Council, added: "The stories of those targeted with this investment scam are devastating. "I'd like to thank them for their bravery in telling their stories so that these callous criminals could be brought to justice." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
