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Disclosure Season 8 Episode 3
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FunTranscript
00:00let me take you into the ruthless world of the multi-million pound whiskey scams and then these
00:11three huge like SUV type cars with sirens and they all like jump out the car in front of me
00:17criminals exploiting an unregulated trade they're feeding off our industry like a parasite investors
00:25losing all they have just over 47,000 76,000 pounds 100,000 over $300,000 how do you sleep at night
00:35how do you look at yourself in the mirror no I won't ever get that night back did you think there
00:42would be so much fraud in this trade no but I knew it was possible I'm on the trail go go go don't lose
00:50them now of the whiskey bandits you're in safe hands those who line their pockets but you're a
01:02director of the company they have literally lost everything to do with us we own some whiskey well
01:12no you own some picture frames the whole thing is fake on the back of Scotland's best-known
01:20commodity the sharks are circling they know there's blood they can smell it and unfortunately in this
01:26particular case the blood is working I don't know anything about whiskey I don't drink I don't even
01:46like it but this really isn't a story about whiskey the world of whiskey isn't one I would have marked
01:53as ripe for criminality but I've heard it's become the latest go-to commodity for criminal gangs
01:59operating around the world I'm on my way to meet a man who knows pretty much everything there is to
02:05know about the whiskey trade so I'm hoping that he can fill in a few of the gaps for me when you go
02:14back to the nose here we've got this gorgeous sweetness but it's beautifully integrated for Kenny
02:21McDonald's watch it whiskey is his business but it's also his passion yeah oh don't I could have
02:34that bottle quite happily upside down at the side of the bed intravenous as well as selling his own
02:41whiskey brand around the world Kenny's also a whiskey cast broker for those keen to invest in the trade in
02:49in the simplest rudimentary terms what is an investment in a whiskey cast someone finds the
02:56cask they buy the cask it sits in the warehouse for as long as they want it to sit in the warehouse and
03:04when they are not wanting it anymore they sell it and they should make a nice profit on it that's that's
03:11it it's that simple it's as simple as that that's simple cask whiskey is a pretty niche investment or
03:18at least it was five years ago an industry report revealed huge returns being made from rare whiskers
03:25much higher than bank interest rates it sparked a gold rush quite literally overnight cask companies
03:35started popping up in the woodwork like mushrooms yeah from nobody being out there to hundreds of
03:41people suddenly trading casks they're feeding off our industry like a parasite I'm going to go off on
03:48the trail of the whiskey bandits and I just wondered what you think I'm going to find you're going to
03:55find people who will do anything and everything to take the last penny of a dying person's hand you're
04:02going to find people who will strip money off of genuine honest hard-working people the minute
04:08you've got something which is popular the sharks are going to start circling they know there's blood
04:13they can smell it and unfortunately in this particular case the blood is whiskey
04:17every year 1.35 billion bottles of whiskey are exported to 160 different countries
04:31around the world it's worth 7.1 billion pounds to the UK economy it's a massive moneymaker
04:42there's more than 150 distilleries around Scotland and people will travel from all over from all over
04:49the world just to be part of something they absolutely love hi hi how are you I'm Steven
04:57nice to meet you how was the whiskey very good so look should we go and find somewhere quiet we can
05:05talk yeah no problem Steven de Grave is a businessman from Belgium he's also a lover of whiskey and travels to
05:13Scotland several times a year to visit distilleries because you were here just a few months ago yeah
05:18it's my third time this year I think and fourth time coming up in June two years ago Steven decided to
05:25take his love of whiskey a step further I was thinking how cool would it be to own my own cask
05:33um that was sitting in Scotland that I would be able to visit and also it's a good investment it's
05:40something that won't lose its value um so that was the start of a search on the internet after some
05:48weeks I got some messages on my Facebook some adverts presenting a company where you could buy your
05:55own cask and the company was called cask whiskey limited for investors on a new journey transparency
06:02and clarity is key in 2021 cask whiskey limited was the new kid on the block of whiskey cask ownership
06:11within just a few months it had made its mark more than anything we want to help you fulfill this
06:18investment journey and have a team of experts ready to answer all your questions in its first year of
06:25trading cask whiskey limited reported a multi-million pound turnover boasted of operations in Hong Kong
06:32and it was winning awards the CEO was this man Craig Arch who was promising great things how much did
06:41you give them in total in total for two casks about 10,000 pounds Steven was given a portfolio manager
06:48craig arch the CEO and founder was constantly in touch and the deal Steven did with them were completed
06:58with a woman called Sydney Anderson she sent me the contracts the confirmation of the payments yeah it
07:07was every time Sydney Anderson she sent him these certificates what she didn't send him was what's
07:14called a delivery order a document which proves who owns what cask it was only when Steven began
07:21to ask for samples of his whiskey that the problems began in the beginning they were promising okay it's
07:28it's coming don't worry you just need have to be patient a little bit some months later another story
07:35until the very ends where they just said yet you won't get any samples Steven wasn't getting any
07:44samples because there was nothing to sample from the certificate Steven had been given were worthless they
07:52didn't relate to any casks anywhere do you know where your casks are on paper yes okay in actual real
08:02life no do you think they exist at this moment anymore no I don't think so yeah they've took my
08:12money but that's all they're gonna get from me because this isn't over yet really definitely I
08:19have a good lawyer waiting in Belgium so let's play the game I decide to take a look at cask whiskey
08:31limited and three things immediately strike me as odd can't find any evidence of their multi-million
08:40pound turnover in their accounts the director that's listed for the company isn't Craig arch that surprises
08:48me the director and the person listed as being in control of the company a multi-million pound
08:57international award-winning whiskey investment company appears to be an eyebrow technician from Essex
09:04oh it is freezing but the buying public it seems knows none of these red flags on the face of it
09:22cask whiskey limited is a great company
09:29Allison
09:31Allison and her partner Ian live on the east coast of Scotland near Montrose with their money doing little in the bank in terms of a return
09:43Allison began looking for other ways to cushion their retirement and came across cask whiskey limited
09:52it seems to be ticking all the right boxes for me I mean it sounded amazing these were offering really good returns
09:58yeah I mean initially 12 13 percent the longer you kept it you could be up to 45 50 percent
10:04Allison bought a cask at three thousand pounds from a sales agent and then after I bought that first cask
10:11he was calling me and texting me all the time about investing more money he came up with three casks that he said would suit me
10:22how much in total did you spend a hundred and three thousand pounds the last three casks I bought were amounted to a hundred thousand
10:35it's a lot of money money it's a lot of money but I was assured that if I wanted to sell quickly they would just sell them for me
10:43Allison now had four casks like Steven she was sent certificates by Sydney Anderson detailing what she'd bought
10:55the company's online portal allowed her access to see how her investment was doing
11:01it went from 103 to 107 then up to 113 thousand we thought this is all right look at my portfolio growing
11:10it was just a quick one I just wanted to let you know so your account is looking in terms the whiskey
11:17and the profit so you've invested 103 thousand it's looking at about 115 to 120 thousand
11:26but he was just ringing for a chat sometimes yeah it was or um how did the house viewing go that you
11:31you were going to see a house and just general conversation yeah right now you'd be sitting on about
11:3720-odd grand profit and then if you need to sell just let us know and then you'll get it back within the week
11:44the relationship between cask whiskey and us changed dramatically the minute I asked them to sell my casks
11:52suddenly they didn't want to talk to me anymore they were avoiding my calls and I think Sydney was still
11:57Sydney Anderson their admin person was still answering emails but not calls I was panicking I was really panicking
12:04that's when I started talking to Craig arch he said the market had gone quite flat yeah and the reason
12:10why he wasn't selling was because he didn't want to lose me money yeah so he wanted to get the price that
12:15the casks were worth I said I don't even care if I've not made anything on them I just want my money back
12:20you want the money back now at this point I decided I would start investigating my own casks
12:25on my certificates it showed where my casks were allegedly when I actually contacted those warehouses
12:36they weren't there the casks weren't there and then came a bombshell from the London City Police
12:43said they were being investigated for fraud those being investigated included the CEO Craig arch I need you to have a
12:53look at this I've got some new facial recognition software and I don't know what made me do it but I've just put
13:00an image of Craig arch into it I'm gonna have a look have a look what's come up it's a mugshot a police mugshot
13:12hi I'm Casey Alexander senior wealth manager at vintage whiskey he's also the director and founder of the company so without further ado
13:35in 2024 Casey Alexander and his company hit the headlines when it was discovered they were running an international
13:46multi-million pound whiskey fraud vintage whiskey costs are targeted elderly Americans persuading them to invest in
13:55casks of Scott whiskey one thing I know for certain is that you'll love being a part of this really fun amazing market
14:02more than 150 elderly people across America fell victim to Casey Alexander and his gang
14:09I feel ashamed first off that I trusted in them I gave them my life really my life savings most of it and uh
14:24how could they do that to me and others older people I invested over $300,000 the money that I've worked hard for all my life
14:39you should be ashamed of yourself at some point you knew you were targeting these people you knew you were extorting them for
14:48their hard-earned money how do you sleep at night how do you look at yourself in the mirror
14:55how will I ever get my money back
14:59no I won't ever get my money back
15:07Casey Alexander was being tried on a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud
15:17he pled guilty was given three years probation and told to pay back $203,000
15:25the thing is more than $13 million was taken and the victims have been left with nothing they've lost their money
15:33and and the whiskey well I don't know whether that ever existed at all
15:40I want to know where the money is where the whiskey is where Casey Alexander is
15:46and I also want to know how he and his gang managed to pull off a multi-million pound fraud
15:53the website for vintage whiskey costs has disappeared but I managed to find it archived on the internet
16:00it looks like a big company loads of staff and a really impressive office and there are videos
16:08welcome to the vintage whiskey websites the leading whiskey car specialists in scotch whiskey
16:13here at the vintage whiskey compliance is a crucial part of our business
16:17for more information please download one of our brochures
16:20there is something just not sitting right with me about this website and I think it's this photo
16:28you can see Casey Alexander there on the left and there's a lot of staff
16:32but it's the man in the middle right the one is in a lot of the videos
16:36he has got just such a familiar face
16:40I'll put him into face recognition
16:48he's an actor
16:51he's an actor
17:02hello
17:03I know this may seem like a strange question but do you remember doing a whiskey advert?
17:08I did yeah it was a while ago now
17:12yeah it was like a corporate thing about investing in whiskey
17:15again it was I was purely you know booked as an actor
17:18it was for a company called Vintage Whiskey Casts
17:22yeah that's right yeah
17:23I was given a script beforehand to learn
17:26I obviously looked at the footage and I thought you know are they plugging me as the CEO of the company
17:34and he said no no no don't worry you're just there as a face answering the questions that investors might have before investing in whiskey
17:44there were a lot of people there who were they all?
17:47we were all booked as actors
17:54one by one I check the other people in the staff photo
18:02nearly every single person in that company photo is an actor
18:08the whole thing's fake
18:10the whole thing is fake
18:13none of the actors featured was aware of the fraud
18:19but right from the start it's clear this whole Scotch whiskey scam was meticulously planned and executed
18:27all of it nothing more than a charade to take people's money
18:34there's no sign of Casey Alexander anywhere on social media
18:38nor is there a home address
18:39but I managed to find a business address he registered just before the fraud
18:45he was running a company that was making millions
18:50and I'm imagining an expensive townhouse or flat
18:55but that's not what this is looking like
18:58straight ahead
19:00this can't be right Charlie
19:02right so that's the address that this guy was an international criminal hunted by the FBI
19:13and this is where he was living
19:15nothing about Casey Alexander rings true
19:19all right okay
19:22wish me luck
19:31hi how you doing?
19:33are you Casey?
19:34two weeks several phone calls and one meeting later
19:38two weeks several phone calls and one meeting later
19:42and the man convicted for his part in one of the world's biggest Scotch whiskey frauds
19:49is in front of me
19:51you comfortable sitting there?
19:52yeah
19:53seats comfortable
19:54it's perfect
19:56I feel like we're doing a group meditation in here
19:58Casey Alexander serving three years probation for his part in ripping off more than 150 elderly Americans
20:09to have them take $300,000 is a very difficult pill to swallow
20:16he was a manipulator and took my money
20:20took my family's money
20:24how dare him
20:26there are people whose lives have been destroyed by this
20:29are you sorry for what you did?
20:31yeah 100% yeah
20:33it's something that you grapple with every single day
20:37feelings at the bottom of the human sensations of shame
20:41guilt
20:42disgust
20:44it's hard to know how much of that to really give yourself
20:47hi I'm Casey Alexander
20:49senior wealth manager at Vintage Whiskey
20:53he says although he set up the company and fronted the videos
20:56he was a small cog in a large operation
20:59he says he was told to register the business
21:02and as a result he would be the one to strike the deals
21:06I'm like dream come true
21:07perfect I get to go
21:09travel to America
21:10meet investors
21:11you know selling excellent products in an excellent industry
21:14and I really threw myself into it
21:17in many ways that in hindsight weren't prudent
21:21such as?
21:23such as being not only the face
21:25but then later on the more official person involved in the company
21:30I ask him about the use of actors making it look like they work for his company
21:35so the the website
21:38yes
21:39you are the only real person
21:41they are all actors other than you
21:43is there not a red flag there for you?
21:48I think partially again you know that you're doing something that's a bit slick
21:51so was this a bit slick
21:52so was this a bit slick?
21:54definitely 100%
21:55I would again just say that
21:57when you're doing things that aren't 100% perfect from an ethical and moral standpoint
22:02there are these muddy justifications that go on in your head
22:05what about his direct dealings with the elderly investors?
22:08there were elements of what was going on that were like definitely dishonest and definitely crafty
22:13like what?
22:14the clientele were told that the company doesn't take any fees
22:18any commissions until the end of the investment
22:20whereas actually there was a markup on the goods that were being sold
22:23and I was earning a commission upon that
22:25you were lying to the investors?
22:27correct 100%
22:29I knew I was using lies and falsehoods partially in my sales presentation
22:34after 15 months of selling whiskey investments
22:36the end of the scam came when a wealthy American investor said he wanted to meet and make a deal
22:43a big deal
22:45so I'm walking through this like open space
22:47and then these three huge like SUV type cars with sirens come literally pulling round that corner
22:56and they all like jump out of the car in front of me
22:59I was like looking around to understand what was going on
23:02and then the guy looked me dead in my face and said my name and told me to drop the paperwork
23:08the whole deal had been an elaborate FBI sting
23:13after his arrest Casey Alexander pled guilty to being involved in the scam
23:20though he maintains he believed the whiskey did exist
23:23the US Attorney's Office Statement on his sentencing said he'd used aggressive and deceptive tactics
23:29to target elderly investors
23:33some of these people are in the final years of their lives
23:38what would you say to them?
23:40I've been asked as a very direct term of my probation
23:44to not have any contact with anybody
23:46and it's even harder because you can't look any of those people in the eye and tell them that you're sorry
23:51for the rest of my life I'm just going to be myself
23:53I'm going to try to be a good person and try to do the right thing
23:55you took it, you took it all, you took, you took everything that I had
24:03it's difficult to know whether the true scale of the fraud will ever be discovered
24:11the FBI is still investigating
24:14and those who are higher up than Casey Alexander and the criminal gang may one day be caught
24:20As for the whiskey, the investors I've spoken to say it's never been found
24:29if it existed at all
24:32I'm about to discover exactly why that may be
24:36So I think it's just up here and I'm not sure what I'm looking for but I think it's a bonded warehouse
24:52filled with whiskey casks
24:55Kosk investments in the UK aren't regulated by any official body
25:00Ah, there we go
25:02I'm guessing the barrels are the clue
25:07This is Whiskey Broker in Cree Town in Dumfries and Galloway
25:16Hello, looking for Martin
25:18Hello, hello
25:20Martin, Sam, nice to meet you
25:21Thank you
25:22It provides whiskey for shops around the world, predominantly Europe
25:27On this site, it stores around 48,000 casks
25:34Compared to the industry, it's minuscule
25:37There'll be individual sites in around Aloha where there are 80 warehouses with 100,000 casks per warehouse
25:43Martin says there's a distinct lack of traceability between warehouses regarding cask ownership
25:49A weakness in the system which criminal gangs are exploiting
25:54Precisely because there's no way to check up on it and there is very little regulation
26:00We have a system at the minute where I can type my vehicle registration into the government website
26:05And say, is my vehicle taxed?
26:07It'll bring up my vehicle and it'll show the date and the model and it'll say when its MOT is due and when its tax is due
26:12Why can't we have a system of ownership, either for the cask itself or for the owner?
26:16They give me their number and I can allocate their casks to that number
26:21There's no traceability between warehouses
26:25So if you were listing the kind of misdemeanors that you've come across, there would be casks being sold?
26:31Overpriced, we've had the overpriced ones, blatantly overpriced
26:35Okay
26:36People could be paying four times what a cask is worth, five times what a cask is worth
26:40We've had the double selling, where the same cask has been sold more than once
26:45To warehouse four, I'll show you some casks
26:48Okay
26:51There are a thousand owners in this warehouse, so any one of those thousand owners could have sold another one without telling us
26:57What is the emotion that you are hearing when investors are phoning you up, looking for their casks?
27:01Panic, just panic
27:03The guy who owns cask number three, he has invested £50,000 in eight casks
27:09And according to his certificate, this is the only one that was here
27:13I realised that the cask that he thought he owned was already allocated to somebody else
27:17So I forwarded him on to the police and said, you're going to have to get in touch with them
27:26Did you think there would be so much fraud in this trade?
27:30No, but I knew it was possible, when there's money involved, then everything follows
27:36And I guess together with the lack of transparency, the lack of regulation and the money to be made, it's...
27:41Perfect storm
27:43At the minute, it's entirely reliant on trust and people calling out the rogue traders
27:51The story is going to get worse because there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of owners out there who have already purchased casks
27:57When you have an unregulated industry with such weak levels of scrutiny, then it's always going to be rich pickings for the criminal
28:12And if you do get stung, then the onus is on you to do the investigating and to catch them
28:17These two are the men behind cask investment company, Whiskey Scotland
28:29For legal reasons we can't show their faces, but both have parts they don't discuss with investors
28:35From derogatory posts about disabled people by one of them, to sharing an image of the swastika and giving a Nazi salute at a far right protest by the other
28:47But to investors, they're a legitimate cask investment business from Glasgow
28:52Claiming to work with the leading Scottish whisky producers, offering highly attractive returns and a full turnkey service
29:01Down on the south coast of England, in Bournemouth, is Lizzie Lyons
29:24Lizzie, Sam, I've got your parcel
29:27How are you? Nice to meet you, how are you doing?
29:29How are you doing?
29:32Lizzie invested in casks from Whiskey Scotland
29:34I looked at company's house, I even spoke to the distillery
29:38I asked him if he had a working relationship with Whiskey Scotland
29:41I asked him who the representative was he dealt with at Whiskey Scotland
29:45Everything came back as, this is who I deal with, he's one of the managing directors
29:51So I had six casks, and my son had six casks
29:55In total?
29:56Three, seven thousand
29:57Then, one day, she couldn't get hold of the company
30:01Phone lines go blank, the director's mobile was ringing and ringing, and then suddenly one day it just went blank
30:10Um, I started doing some investigations myself
30:14So they sent me by recorded delivery
30:17Certificates of my ownership of the casks
30:20And I have got them here
30:22Can I see them all?
30:23Yes, I've got four of them, all the same
30:26I have phoned the distilleries
30:27Do they have your casks?
30:28No
30:29None of them?
30:30My casks don't exist
30:32So they literally just took your money?
30:35Yes
30:36When you received these, you kind of think, alright, okay
30:39Yes
30:40Were you quite happy?
30:41Yes
30:43We own some whiskey
30:44Well no, you own some picture frames
30:46At the moment, yeah
30:47That's all we own
30:48And some badly printed paper
30:50Yes
30:53I went on Trustpilot
30:55Um, and that's when I knew there was definitely a problem
30:59Dozens of investors in the same boat as Lizzie had left reviews
31:04I really want to compile as much evidence and information at this stage as I possibly can
31:12So many of us have been caught up in this to the tune of over three million
31:16So that's when I put on Trustpilot
31:18I'm in the same situation as you guys
31:22If anybody can reach out to me and tell me their story
31:25And I think if there is a problem, which I very much feel there is a problem
31:30Um, we need to go en masse
31:32240 miles away from Lizzie, in Wrexham, is Geoff
31:42Meeting him in between jobs
31:44For the last 16 years, he's worked as a locksmith
31:47Geoff, hi, thank you so much for waiting for me
31:50He'd invested twice what Lizzie had
31:53A hundred thousand pounds, his entire life savings
31:57Whiskey Scotland took the lot
32:00I've come from nothing
32:02And someone to come and take that off me is not going to happen
32:04I tried to get, go, get something back in the banks and it just, it's not, it's not happening
32:13That investment's tough
32:15It's your money, you lost it, it's you know what
32:17No one wants to help
32:19Let's have it up
32:20I'm never going to let me kids and me family take this
32:26It's my responsibility, it's my mistake
32:31See, people, they might see this as a weakness, it isn't, this is anger
32:42I will not stop, I will keep coming for you till they find out what you're doing with my money
32:46No one is going to rip me off and walk away from this without me facing you
32:52I will get an army together, we will be ripped off
32:56You know, and we will try and do something about it
32:59And that was when Geoff met Lizzie
33:07So, now, there's a group of us all together, investors
33:13The two main characters in this
33:16I will not forget you
33:18I will one day be tapping you on the shoulder to see
33:22Eye for an eye
33:30I'll never forget that day, it was actually the worst day of my life
33:37She received a telephone call and I heard her scream
33:40She just broke down, she just broke down in my arms
33:45And then, um, she said, I'm so, so sorry
33:48Um...
33:50It's botasticised
33:52The cancer's back
33:58Susie's talking about her wife, Jay
34:01They live in Peacehaven, near Brighton
34:02Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Jay wanted to ensure that Susie was looked after when she was gone
34:11Jay's dad told her about whiskey investment and a man he'd invested with
34:16This was through Whiskey Scotland?
34:18Yes
34:20Jay bought seven casks of whiskey from them
34:22She would send certificates, not delivery orders
34:25These ones signed by one of the directors of Whiskey Scotland
34:28And in total you gave them how much?
34:31It was just over £76,000
34:35The director who sold her the casks knew all about Jay's diagnosis
34:40He'd often leave her voicemails
34:42Hi Jay, um, sorry I haven't been in touch since your last message
34:47I've been travelling all over
34:49Hi Jay, Happy New Year to you too, my love
34:51I'm just at the airport at the minute
34:52I'm just on the way to Dublin
34:53The last few weeks I've been travelling so much, meeting so many people, drinking so much
34:57I absolutely love Krakow
34:59Every woman there is a model
35:01Hi Jay, I'm so sorry you're feeling bad
35:02But, like, you're my favourite ever client
35:05I'm gonna have two cocktails for you
35:07And I've got a funny feeling
35:09You're probably gonna outlive me
35:11So, God bless you and, you know, just wish you all the best
35:16I just think the world of you
35:18I think the world of me enough to run off with my money
35:21And after those voicemails
35:23Nothing, yeah
35:26You've never heard from him again?
35:28No, nothing, nothing
35:30Jay's since been told it would be 25 years
35:35Before she'd even get back what she'd paid for five of the casks
35:40The other two casks, they didn't exist
35:44They've made somebody who's facing end of life at an early age
35:48They've made it infinitely more difficult
35:52None of it will matter to people like this
35:55No
35:57They don't care
35:59Clearly going by their posts on social media
36:03She's right
36:05This is on the Orient Express
36:08Where he proposed to his girlfriend
36:12That'll be a lovely time
36:14There's the ring
36:16It's good to know where our money's gone
36:18It was quite a lovely wedding
36:20Lovely couple
36:21On everybody else's money
36:22They're just back from Cape Verde
36:24Well, they can afford it, can't they?
36:26They're going to be a fantastic life, aren't they?
36:28On everybody else's misery
36:30How do you live with yourself?
36:35And thank you, just thank you for making my end of life even harder
36:42Even harder
36:46Whiskey Scotland deployed every single trick in the book that was described to me by Martin back in the whiskey warehouse in Dumfries
36:54Overpricing
36:55Overpricing
36:57Selling casks that simply didn't exist
36:59And exploiting the opaque and unregulated trade in cask investments to profit to the tune of millions
37:07The collective actions of Lizzie, Jeff and Jay have led to the police now taking an interest in the company
37:18I'm also interested to catch up with them
37:21It should be
37:23Round here and up
37:26Into a terrace
37:28I'm in the centre of Glasgow heading to the registered office of Whiskey Scotland
37:33That's definitely it
37:35That's definitely the address
37:37Well, I'll look
37:45Hello, I'm trying to find Whiskey Scotland and this is the registered address
37:50What you're saying is that the directors of Whiskey Scotland and Whiskey Scotland has never actually been here
37:57How would I get their forwarding address?
38:02You can't give it to me
38:09So, it's a virtual office
38:12They're not there
38:14They've never been there
38:16The whole thing
38:18It's just a charade
38:21I start looking for their home addresses
38:24Both men are from Essex
38:26The last known address for the director who sold Jay her casks was rented
38:32He left over a year ago
38:34And now he's simply vanished
38:36The other director's a mystery too
38:38He's not at any of the addresses I can link to him
38:43But there's a breakthrough when I spot a post on his wife's Facebook page
38:47It's a photo of a private car registration plate that they're selling
38:52Near to where his wife works, I spot the car going past me
38:57Come on, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go
39:00Don't lose them now
39:02Don't lose them now
39:03Don't lose them now
39:04Don't lose them now
39:05Don't lose them now
39:06Don't lose them now
39:07Don't lose them now
39:08Don't lose them now
39:10Don't lose them now
39:12I managed to follow the car to an address
39:15Which means that after months of searching
39:18I may finally have found where one half of Whiskey Scotland is
39:22Hello, hi, sorry, are you
39:42Hi, so my name's Sam
39:44It's the director of Whiskey Scotland
39:47And I wanted to talk to you about Whiskey Scotland
39:49I understand that but you're a director of the company
39:53And you, but can I just
39:55Okay, somebody doesn't want to talk to me
39:57I'll try
39:59One more time
40:08Just like he's ignored the investors
40:10He doesn't want to speak to me about where the money's gone
40:14We've also tried to contact his business partner for a comment
40:17The one who left Jay all those voice notes
40:21You know, I'll always do my best for you
40:23Like you're my favourite ever client
40:25He hasn't responded
40:27I need you to have a look at this
40:29I've got some new facial recognition software
40:31And I don't know what made me do it
40:33But I've just put an image of Craig Arch into it
40:37Remember Craig Arch, CEO of multi-award winning cask Whiskey Limited
40:44Incredible prospects of whiskey cask ownership
40:47And remember Stephen from Belgium, who'd invested in the company
40:51And lost the lot
40:53And Alison in Montrose, who'd handed over £100,000
40:56When I'd put Craig Arch's photo into face recognition, this is what came up
41:07So this is the mug shot that I found late last night
41:12And when you click on it, it takes you to a number of articles
41:17About a man called Craig Brooks
41:20And Craig Brooks is a convicted fraudster
41:24He was convicted of running a multi-million pound scam
41:29£6.2 million
41:31There were 350 victims, most of whom were elderly
41:36And he was jailed for a year
41:45I mean, it looks like Craig Arch
41:48I think it looks like Craig Arch
41:51Am I 100%?
41:53No, I'm not
41:55No, I am not
41:59It doesn't take long to find convincing evidence, though
42:03This is Craig Brooks in 2014
42:06And this is him now
42:08It's Craig Arch
42:10Straight out of prison, Craig Brooks has changed his appearance
42:13Changed his name to Arch
42:15And set up Cask Whiskey Limited
42:18And the director of the company, the eyebrow technician
42:22It's his fiancée
42:26With Cask Whiskey Limited under investigation by the police
42:29And no longer trading
42:31I start to think I've missed my chance in catching them out
42:38Then I come across a new company
42:41Cask Spirits Global
42:44The director is this man, Paul Hutchins
42:48Seen here getting married
42:50And watched on proudly by his daughter
42:52The fiancée of Craig Brooks
42:54And by the man himself
42:59I send an email to Cask Spirits Global
43:02And say I'm representing a wealthy client who wants to invest in whisky
43:06Hopefully, it will be enough to get in front of them
43:10Whoever they are
43:14Almost immediately, I get a reply
43:20Several replies
43:21From a man called Hutchins
43:25Craig Hutchins
43:27Is it Craig Brooks?
43:29Has he changed his name again?
43:33While I wait for Craig Hutchins to get back to me about a meeting
43:39It's time to tell Alison and Ian the truth about who they gave their money to
43:44Alison's tracked down three of the four casts she thought she'd bought
43:50The one she paid £50,000 for, it's nowhere to be found
43:54And the others, she's heavily overpaid and they aren't even hers
43:58So, I'm going to tell you a few things that I know
44:02Okay
44:03So, there we are
44:04That is a man that you know to be Craig Arch
44:07Yeah
44:09Yep
44:10Oh my good God
44:12Craig Arch is actually a man called Craig Brooks
44:16Oh
44:18Right
44:19And Craig Brooks is a convicted fraudster
44:22Oh my God
44:24He was convicted for multi-million pound fraud
44:26Okay
44:28They
44:30Ran an investment
44:32Fraud
44:34Of millions
44:36No
44:37Targeting mainly older people
44:39What a bunch of crooked
44:41This just ****
44:42Just doesn't care does he?
44:44How do these people get away with this?
44:46I was going to say
44:48They've been done for fraud before
44:50And yet they've had the gall to come out
44:54And just do it all over again
44:55He's disqualified as a director
44:58That's why he wasn't on Company's House
45:00That's why he's not on Company's House
45:02The woman who is on Company's House as the director
45:05Is his partner
45:07Right, okay
45:09What, Craig?
45:11Craig Brooks' partner
45:12Craig Arch
45:14Whatever you want to call him
45:15Is there anybody that we spoke to in that company
45:18Who they say they were?
45:20Who they say they were?
45:21I hope they catch up with you one day
45:22And you get jailed for a long, long time
45:25I will pass those messages on
45:28Thanks, thank you
45:29Should I see him?
45:30Yeah, thank you very, very much
45:31Which I'm planning on
45:32Good
45:33Okay
45:34Are you?
45:35Good for you
45:36A few weeks later
45:41And I'm in London
45:43I'm posing as the representative of a wealthy client
45:47And I'm off to a meeting at the Westminster office
45:50Of Cast Spirits Global
45:52I'm looking for Hutchins
45:57Craig Hutchins
45:58Twelve
45:59Eleven till twelve
46:00On the
46:02Seventh floor in Athens
46:03Which is really a room in a building
46:05Which can be rented by the hour
46:08Floor two
46:11Doors opening
46:18Craig
46:19Hi
46:20Hi
46:21How nice to meet you, Bernard
46:23I was meant to come down and grab you
46:25What was your name?
46:26Sophie
46:27It's not
46:28It's Sydney
46:29Sydney Anderson
46:30I got an email from you
46:31She's admin for Cask Whiskey Limited
46:34How are you?
46:35And this is convicted fraudster and disqualified director
46:39Craig Brooks
46:40Sorry, Arch
46:41No, that was Cask Whiskey Limited today
46:44He's Craig Hutchins
46:46I'm good, how are you?
46:47I'm very well
46:48Very well
46:49And this is Michael Davies
46:50Real name
46:51Michael Conway
46:54Being young and ambitious, you know, I've got time on site to go in a performance-based role
46:59Now, a whiskey broker for Craig Brooks
47:01I've got lots of history in the whiskey market
47:03Four years at my last company and three years previous
47:05Okay
47:06So seven years in total in the whiskey market
47:08Wow
47:09I've got contracts with all the warehouses in Scotland
47:12Okay
47:13The majority of clients, they sell smaller so anywhere between 3,000 and 50,000
47:18So I think my largest trade is 1.4 million
47:22They show me a printout of casks they'd selected especially for my client to buy
47:27I later showed these figures to industry experts
47:30They say they're ten times what some of these casks are actually worth
47:35They want one and a half million from me for the lot
47:38We can receive any amount up to 4 million with a notify in the bank
47:42And in terms of being used to using sums of that amount
47:48We're in safe hands
47:49Yeah, yeah, yeah
47:51100%
47:52They tell me that should I wish to sell any casks I buy from them
47:55They have a long list of clients who they'd turn to first
47:58So we have an existing client base
48:00So he's been going back seven years
48:03Okay
48:0411,000
48:05All over Europe really
48:06To be honest with you
48:07You've got clients all over Europe
48:08All over Europe
48:10Greece
48:11Greece Cyprus
48:12Norway
48:14France
48:15France of course
48:16Belgium
48:17Actually
48:18Oh right, okay
48:19The youngest is 19
48:20The oldest is about 92
48:22He then tells me about his business model
48:25If we set a profit
48:27We charge 10% on the profits only
48:30Right
48:31So you don't make any money from them until they're sold
48:34Exactly
48:35Yeah
48:36But then how do you exist in business if you make no money until they're sold?
48:39Because we've got existing clients that we're selling out on orders all the time
48:43So have you used this business model before?
48:45Yeah
48:46And it works?
48:47Yeah, yeah, yeah
48:49Business matters dealt with
48:51Now I want to get to the bottom of exactly who I'm dealing with
48:55In terms of the family business
48:58Is it a full family business or is it just the two of you?
49:03It was Sydney as well
49:05She's going to see through a lot
49:06Sorry, who's Sydney?
49:09Sophie
49:10Sophie
49:11Sophie?
49:12Yeah, yeah
49:13Oh, that's who I met
49:14And who's Sydney then?
49:17She's worked with us as well
49:20But she's not here
49:21And Sydney's family?
49:22Yeah, yeah
49:23How's...
49:24That's my girlfriend
49:25Right
49:26Okay
49:27There she is
49:28Yeah
49:29Oh, she's gorgeous
49:30Yes
49:31Just met her
49:32That's Sydney
49:33I've got her confused
49:34Oh my goodness
49:35Right, okay
49:36So that's right
49:37So that's Sophie or Sydney?
49:38Yeah, Sophie, sorry
49:39That's Sophie?
49:40They look very much alike
49:41They do look very much alike
49:42I know, but you should be able to spot your own
49:43No, I'm bad at it, honestly
49:45Yeah
49:46And what about the director of the company, Paul Hutchins, father of Craig Brooks' fiancee?
49:52Who is Paul?
49:54Paul Hutchins
49:55I didn't know that when we got together that her father's name was Hutchins
49:59Oh, I see
50:00So when did you fact, like, that would have been a...
50:02Yeah, yeah
50:03Wow
50:04So, so Hutchins just...
50:05Just chanced
50:06That's amazing
50:07Meant to be, I guess
50:08Yeah
50:09Meant to be
50:10So, according to Craig, it's just a coincidence that he shares the same surname as the company director
50:17So tell me, it's your company, oh, you run the company, right, okay
50:20Is Paul someone we would need to meet or not?
50:24No
50:25Okay, so in terms of decision making, that's...
50:29Me
50:30Okay
50:31Which means that we only need to deal with you with regards to the finances
50:35Yes, exactly
50:36So, Craig Brooks, a convicted fraudster and disqualified director, is running Cask Spirits Global, acting as a shadow director, which is illegal, and using a frontman, Paul Hutchins, for the paperwork, just as he'd used his partner, eyebrow technician, Brie Acres, as the frontman for Cask Whiskey Ltd.
50:58Thank you very much for your time. I clean myself out. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. Thank you. Bye-bye. See you later. Bye-bye. Bye.
51:08Moments after I leave the meeting, so do they, to the nearest pub, where they discuss the false names they'd used in their meeting with me, their would-be investor.
51:18Moments after putting the Sydney Sophie debacle to bed they turned to the coincidence of Paul Hutchins.
51:28After putting the Sydney-Sophie debacle to bed,
51:38they turned to the coincidence of Paul Hutchins.
51:41I then send a text to Craig Brooks' phone,
52:00still pretending to be the representative of the wealthy investor.
52:11That is the best office.
52:15You keep up well.
52:18It's upside down.
52:19You've got it.
52:20You've got it.
52:21You've got it.
52:37Throughout this investigation,
52:39what's clear is that the cask investment trade
52:42has fast become Whiskey's Wild West,
52:46unregulated and open to exploitation by criminals.
52:51It's now been a few weeks since I met with Craig Arch.
52:55I mean, Brooks.
52:57Sorry.
52:57Hutchins.
52:59And there's just one more thing left for me to do.
53:02It's time to see him again
53:08and give him the good news about our deal.
53:12Hi.
53:14Hello.
53:15Oh, you probably don't recognise me.
53:16I look totally different.
53:18I know.
53:18That's because I'm not who I said I was.
53:20Just as you're not who you said you were,
53:23you're Sydney Anderson.
53:25Craig.
53:26You're Craig Brooks.
53:28Yeah.
53:28Convicted fraud star.
53:29Disqualified director.
53:30You've been running company after company.
53:32You were all using deception, correct?
53:35Who are you?
53:35I'm Sam Poling.
53:36I'm an investigative journalist for the BBC.
53:38I've been investigating you.
53:40Yeah.
53:40You're not Sophie, are you?
53:42You're Sydney.
53:43So your name's Sophie?
53:44Yeah.
53:44That's not true.
53:46You use your fiancé's name as a director
53:48for Casco Whiskey Limited, correct?
53:50She's an eyebrow technician.
53:52You're real smart.
53:52OK, correct.
53:54How many investors do you think you've taken money from
53:56for Casco Whiskey Limited?
53:58I sit here.
53:59OK.
53:59Some of these whiskey casts don't exist, right?
54:02Some of them you were selling were five times the amount.
54:05They all exist.
54:07They all exist.
54:08They all exist.
54:09We've been liaising with everyone and we've given all the...
54:11Who has?
54:12Sophie has or Sydney has?
54:13Just so that we're clear.
54:14And Craig Hutchins has or Craig Arch has or Craig Brooks.
54:17Craig Arch.
54:18It is.
54:19There are so many investors looking for their money.
54:22You are a disqualified director.
54:25You're running the company.
54:26You sat there and told me I'm the decision maker.
54:28I make the financial decisions.
54:30That's what you said.
54:31I didn't say that.
54:32It's your surname Hutchins.
54:34Let's just be quite clear here.
54:36Yeah, it's not.
54:37It's not Hutchins.
54:37It's not a coincidence, is it, that it's Hutchins?
54:39Because it isn't Hutchins.
54:40No.
54:41You said it was a coincidence.
54:42You said it was by chance.
54:45Yeah?
54:45Then when you set up...
54:47When you set up Cast Whiskey Limited, when you started being under investigation, Craig,
54:52you then set up Cast Spirits Global, setting up another director as the front man.
54:58Is that not true?
55:00What would you say to the investors who are watching this, who have lost everything, Craig?
55:05They have literally lost everything.
55:08They have nothing to do with us.
55:10It's your company.
55:11You were running the company, Craig.
55:12Yeah, but it wasn't helpful why you got shut down.
55:15But you've set up another company as a disqualified director, right?
55:19So you're not a disqualified director?
55:21No, I haven't set it up.
55:22All the clients are in their class.
55:24I'm finding it very difficult to accept any facts from someone who completely lied about who they were.
55:30And then when you all went to the pub afterwards, you're high-fiving each other and laughing
55:33about the fact that they kept calling you...
55:36No one was high-fiving.
55:37I've got it on camera.
55:39I've got it on camera.
55:40Yeah, but we were happy.
55:41I'm sure you were happy.
55:42You just deceived somebody who was about to give you an awful lot of money.
55:46We were selling cars and we would have given you them cars.
55:48Really?
55:49Yeah.
55:49For 1.5 million, that's not what they were worth.
55:52OK.
55:52OK, I'm going to let you go.
55:54Can I give this to you?
55:57So, Sydney, you've just told me your name was Sophie over there.
56:00You said your name was Sophie.
56:01No, it is Sophie.
56:02No, he just called you Sydney.
56:03No, but his name was Craig Brooks.
56:06I know, but you just told me your name was Sophie.
56:08That's all you've got, right?
56:09That's all it is.
56:10Oh, OK.
56:11And we're off.
56:11It's on his...
56:12OK.
56:12I need to give this to you.
56:13So, this is a letter of allegations.
56:16Well, Sophie, Sydney, can take it.
56:18Is that OK?
56:19Is your name Anna?
56:20Anna?
56:20No.
56:21No.
56:21No.
56:25Hi, Anna.
56:30I mean, my advice would be, if you are interested in investing in whiskey casks, do your research.
56:39Because not everybody is who they say they are.
56:42Later, Craig Brooks told us that he had not been jailed as part of an investment fraud, instead for unfair trading practices.
56:54He said casks were only ever sold for 1.7 times their wholesale price, and he denied stating they had 11,000 clients, saying,
57:02We must have misheard.
57:05Michael Conway said he'd used the different name, as it was an available email account.
57:11Sydney Anderson said the same.
57:13The account was given to her to use, under the name Sophie King.
57:16It was not to be deceptive or fraudulent.
57:19She told us the company operates legitimately.
57:24Neither Bree Akers, director of Cars Whiskey Limited, Craig Brooks' fiancé,
57:30nor Paul Hutchins, director of Cask Spirits Global, Bree's father, responded to our request for a comment.
57:41I've spent months investigating the cask whiskey trade, witnessing the devastating effects of an industry open to exploitation.
57:50I've discovered the ruthless tactics used by criminal networks to line their pockets, deception and fraud at the heart of them.
58:00I've met victims scammed out of fortunes, taken for all they had.
58:06No, I won't ever get my money back.
58:09And I've seen the cost of weak regulation, allowing criminals to operate with little consequence.
58:16All of it putting at risk the global reputation of Scotch whiskey,
58:22and an industry that Scotland has long been proud of.
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