Justin McClintock has secured the only non-conviction disposal in ‘Operation Vino Veritas’, a fine wine fraud worth nearly £1 million at Southwark Crown Court.
The case was described by the CPS as ‘an elaborate wine investment scam which conned nearly £1m out of investors, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable’. Justin’s client was originally charged with three related counts of conspiracy to defraud however the Crown were persuaded to accept a plea to a money laundering offence. The volume of evidence and complexity of the case was such that the Crown were represented by leading and junior counsel.
Justin was ultimately able to persuade the Court to impose a suspended sentence for his client (the only defendant to avoid an immediate custodial sentence, with the other four defendants receiving a total sentence of 17 years and 9 months imprisonment).
Justin was instructed by Sumeer Chaudhry of Bac Solicitors.
