He Ran A Wine-And-Dine Scheme, Scamming Investors Out Of Millions Of Dollars Using Rare, Expensive Wines

HappyAlex - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only
HappyAlex - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only

A 58-year-old international businessman based in New York was sentenced to two years in prison for his hand in a “wine-and-dine” fraud scheme.

Omar Khan scammed investors out of millions of dollars using rare and expensive wines. He also pretended to be his attorney in order to keep the scheme going.

In 2015, Khan was described as a “fanatical wine connoisseur” by Forbes Magazine. Between 2015 and 2019, Khan utilized his high-profile status to lure investors into financing his ventures, costing some of his victims all of their savings.

He hosted wine tastings and networking events for wealthy individuals. During one of these events, vintage wines, oysters, caviar, Nantucket bay scallops, risotto cooked in bone marrow broth, and more were served.

According to the Department of Justice, if guests invested in these kinds of lavish dinners and events, Khan promised them profits. However, he used the funds he received for personal expenditures. He then made false statements to investors when he was unable to pay them back.

For example, in one case, a New York retiree who was identified as Victim 1 fell for the scheme after they developed a friendship with Khan. In the beginning, Victim 1 invested small amounts of money for the dinner events.

But then, in 2018, Khan convinced Victim 1 to sink $5 million into a famous vineyard located in Bordeaux, France.

Khan presented the investment as a consulting deal involving a New York club. For several months, he came up with numerous excuses as to why the deal had not yet been closed.

In one email to Victim 1, he claimed the money was “on the move.” However, the very next day, he said that the IRS had placed a lien on his business account for unusual activity in Dubai, which was unrelated to the deal.

HappyAlex – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only

Also in 2018, Khan told another victim through an email, referred to as Victim 2, that his lawyers sent legal demands to the bank to get the issues with the delay in payment resolved.

In reality, Khan had forged the above emails and no legal action had been taken at all. He had sent them while posing as his lawyers.

In 2019, more victims began to speak up, and several filed a civil lawsuit against him. As a result, Khan fled to Sri Lanka, where he lived at a hotel.

He was forced out of the country and was eventually arrested at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. In March 2024, he pled guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft.

Aside from the two-year prison sentence, Omar Khan was sentenced to one year of supervised release and was ordered to pay over $6 million in restitution to his victims. Hopefully, his victims will be able to heal after experiencing financial fraud.

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Emily  Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a ... More about Emily Chan

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