A British man appeared in a New York court on Friday after being extradited to the US over his alleged part in a $99 million (£73 million) wine fraud.

James Wellesley, 58, pleaded not guilty to defrauding investors in a complex scheme that entailed duping them into lending money to a cohort of non-existent high-net-worth wine collectors.

He and fellow Briton Stephen Burton, 60, his alleged co-conspirator, allegedly posed as directors of Bordeaux Cellars, a company which supposedly brokered the loans.

They promoted their scheme, which ran from at least June 2017 to February 2019, according to the United States Attorney’s office, at investment conferences all over the world, including in the US.

The Ponzi-style scheme involved persuading investors to lend money to the wine collectors. In return, they were promised regular interest payments.

These loans were secured against a stockpile of expensive wine, which included Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, in Burgundy, which is listed for sale online for more than $17,000 per bottle, and Château Lafleur in Bordeaux, which is listed for sale at more than $5,000.

Not only did the wine collectors not exist, but nor did the wine, the US Attorney’s Office website alleges.

Mr Wellesley and Mr Burton are accused of using the loans to make fraudulent payments to investors and the rest for themselves.

Mr Wellesley is said to have had several aliases, including Andrew Fuller and Andrew Templar.

“James Wellesley and his business partner allegedly concocted an elaborate scheme defrauding investors out of millions of dollars to finance their own personal expenses. Their alleged deceit spread across years and continents,” said Christopher Raia, assistant director in charge of the FBI New York office.