Latest news with #wireFraud
Malay Mail
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Alleged ‘Hollywood Con Queen' loses fight against extradition from UK to US
LONDON, July 29 — An Indonesian national dubbed the 'Hollywood Con Queen' by the media for allegedly impersonating top female movie industry executives in a seven-year fraud today lost his bid to block his extradition from Britain to stand trial in the US. Hargobind Tahilramani is wanted in California on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for allegedly defrauding around 300 people out of a total of approximately US$1 million (RM4.23 million) between 2013 and 2020. The 45-year-old is accused of tricking people into travelling to Indonesia and paying exorbitant fees for non-existent film work, before he was arrested in a hotel in Manchester, England, in November 2020. Tahilramani's extradition was approved by a judge and then British ministers in 2023, but he challenged the decision to send him to the US to stand trial, arguing prison conditions would breach his human rights due to his mental health. His lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told London's High Court in April that Tahilramani, who has applied for asylum in Britain, was also at risk of being attacked in prison as a gay man. Fitzgerald said this meant Tahilramani was likely to be held in isolation while in pre-trial detention, which put him at high risk of suicide given his underlying mental health issues. But Tahilramani's appeal was dismissed by Judge Derek Sweeting, who said in a written ruling that the lower court was not wrong when it ordered his extradition to stand trial. — Reuters
Fox News
11-07-2025
- Business
- Fox News
UK man indicted in alleged $99M wine fraud scheme that left investors high and dry
A man from the United Kingdom was arraigned Friday in Brooklyn federal court after being charged with running a $99 million money laundering scheme through a faux wine company. James Wellesley, 56, was arraigned after his extradition from the U.K., where he and co-defendant Stephen Burton, 58, were arrested in 2022. The two are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy in an alleged scheme perpetrated through Bordeaux Cellars, a company Wellesley and Burton operated. The indictment alleges that from at least June 2017 through February 2019, Wellesley and Burton posed as executives at Bordeaux Cellars, soliciting investors in New York and at investor conferences in the U.S. and overseas. Wellesley and Burton told investors Bordeaux Cellars brokered loans between investors and wealthy wine collectors that would be fully collateralized by high-value collections of wine, according to court documents. They also allegedly promised that investors would receive regular interest payments from the borrowers and that Bordeaux Cellars would keep custody of the wine, securing the loans while the loans were outstanding. Prosecutors claim the "high-net-worth wine collectors" did not exist, and Bordeaux Cellars did not have the wine that was supposedly securing the loans. Instead, Wellesley and Burton used the money they made from incoming loans to make fraudulent interest payments to investors and for their own personal expenses, resulting in $99 million in misdirected funds, according to court documents. "Today's arraignment sends a message to all perpetrators of global fraud schemes that my office will work tirelessly to ensure they answer for crimes committed in the United States," United States Attorney Joseph Nocella wrote in a statement. "We will not rest in our efforts to seek justice for victims of fraud." Ricky Patel, HSI New York special agent in charge, accused the duo of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from collectors. "James Wellesley and his coconspirator are accused of masterminding their nearly $100 million international fraud scheme that exploited the unsuspecting public, including New Yorkers, for their own selfish enrichment," Patel said. "As alleged, the defendants claimed Bordeaux Cellars boasted a high-value wine stockpile and a clientele of 'high-net-worth wine collectors' and, in turn, profited handsomely, all while they swindled investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more." Burton was extradited from Morocco in 2023 and is awaiting trial. Wellesley was ordered detained pending trial. If convicted, the pair face up to 20 years in prison.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man accused of running Canada's largest grandparent scam network arrested in Quebec
Gareth West, the alleged leader of a network of grandparent scammers accused of defrauding $30 million from American seniors, has been arrested. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested him in Quebec on Friday on behalf of American investigators who have charged him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit to money laundering, an RCMP spokesperson confirmed to CBC. Last month, CBC published a story detailing West's alleged criminal activity. Investigators allege he ran a lucrative and complex grandparent scam network that employed dozens of people out of multiple Montreal-area call centres. Meanwhile, West presented himself as a wealthy real estate developer. Read that article here: Last year, police raided locations across the Montreal area where West's alleged employees were found making scam calls to elderly victims in Virginia, according to information in an indictment filed in U.S. court. Then, in early March, RCMP officers arrested 23 people accused of participating in the scam. But West eluded them for several months. A source with knowledge of the situation who requested to remain confidential said West had been staying at a house in Burlington, Ont., in early March. But, when police went to that house, West wasn't there because it was being renovated. He was staying in a nearby rental home, the source said, but when officers arrived there, he was gone. WATCH | CBC's investigation into Gareth West: One other alleged member of the scam network, Jimmy Ylimaki, remains on the run. If extradited to the U.S. and convicted, West could face up to 40 years in prison. West will appear in Quebec Superior Court on Saturday.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man accused of running Canada's largest grandparent scam network arrested in Quebec
Gareth West, the alleged leader of a network of grandparent scammers accused of defrauding $30 million from American seniors, has been arrested. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested him in Quebec on Friday on behalf of American investigators who have charged him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit to money laundering, an RCMP spokesperson confirmed to CBC. Last month, CBC published a story detailing West's alleged criminal activity. Investigators allege he ran a lucrative and complex grandparent scam network that employed dozens of people out of multiple Montreal-area call centres. Meanwhile, West presented himself as a wealthy real estate developer. Read that article here: Last year, police raided locations across the Montreal area where West's alleged employees were found making scam calls to elderly victims in Virginia, according to information in an indictment filed in U.S. court. Then, in early March, RCMP officers arrested 23 people accused of participating in the scam. But West eluded them for several months. A source with knowledge of the situation who requested to remain confidential said West had been staying at a house in Burlington, Ont., in early March. But, when police went to that house, West wasn't there because it was being renovated. He was staying in a nearby rental home, the source said, but when officers arrived there, he was gone. WATCH | CBC's investigation into Gareth West: One other alleged member of the scam network, Jimmy Ylimaki, remains on the run. If extradited to the U.S. and convicted, West could face up to 40 years in prison. West will appear in Quebec Superior Court on Saturday.
CBC
04-07-2025
- CBC
Man accused of running Canada's largest grandparent scam network arrested in Quebec
Gareth West, the alleged leader of a network of grandparent scammers accused of defrauding $30 million from American seniors, has been arrested. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested him in Quebec on Friday on behalf of American investigators who have charged him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit to money laundering, an RCMP spokesperson confirmed to CBC. Last month, CBC published a story detailing West's alleged criminal activity. Investigators allege he ran a lucrative and complex grandparent scam network that employed dozens of people out of multiple Montreal-area call centres. Meanwhile, West presented himself as a wealthy real estate developer. Last year, police raided locations across the Montreal area where West's alleged employees were found making scam calls to elderly victims in Virginia, according to information in an indictment filed in U.S. court. Then, in early March, RCMP officers arrested 23 people accused of participating in the scam. But West eluded them for several months. A source with knowledge of the situation who requested to remain confidential said West had been staying at a house in Burlington, Ont., around that time. WATCH | CBC's investigation into Gareth West: How CBC investigated an alleged grandparent scam mogul 13 days ago Duration 4:22 Gareth West lived a life of luxury. He said he made his money from buying and selling real estate in Montreal and southern Ontario. Now, he's been charged with orchestrating a $30-million scam network. When police went to that house, West wasn't there because it was being renovated. He was staying in a nearby rental home, the source said, but when officers arrived there, he was gone. One other alleged member of the scam network, Jimmy Ylimaki, remains on the run. If extradited to the U.S. and convicted, West could face up to 40 years in prison.
