Yesterday, 5 August, at St Albans Crown Court, three people were convicted of fraudulent trading relating to a complex wine fraud run by Imperial Wine & Spirits Merchant Ltd, previously Imperial Wines of London Ltd, following an investigation by Hertfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards team.
The investigation revealed that £6million was lost to 41 victims from across the UK, but over £37m 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, on the back of a lie that the company didn’t make any money until they sold the wine at a profit for the customer. In fact they marked the initial price up so high, sometimes over 400%, 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 themajority 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.
The level of deception from those involved in this scam was significant, with 42-year-old Ben Cazaly, 39-year-old Greg Assemakis, 45-year-old Dominic D’Sa playing their part in convincing their victims to part with their money.
In 2008 Ben Cazaly, founded a company called ‘Imperial Wines of London Ltd’ later called Imperial Wine & Spirits Merchant Ltd, 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, cajole, 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. Logos for the Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times were used without authorisation. Evidence was also secured showing that theindividuals used fake names when talking to their victims, all tricks learned from watching films like ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ as company sales training.
Trading Standards officers raided the office building where the fraudsters were operating from in Groveland Court, London, on 8th November 2018 and found a mantra on the wall stating ‘No means Yes’ and 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.
Call recordings of actual calls to prospective customers were played to the jury, some of which involved obviously very vulnerable customers. One such example was particularly distressing to listen to, as the salesperson repeatedly asked the confused lady for her payment card details despite the lady not knowing what a payment card was or who she banked with.
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 emotionalimpact 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.”
The investigation by Hertfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards team was supported by the National Trading Standards Tri Regional Investigations Team.
Trish Burls, Chair of the National Trading Standards Tri Regional Investigations Team, said:
“Victims in this case lost thousands of pounds through a coordinated 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.
“I hope today’s outcome provides some solace for the victims and families involved. If you suspect you or someone you know might have been targeted by a scam like this, you should report it to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.”
Sentencing will take place on 24 October 2025