Stephen Burton, the UK citizen who founded London-based Bordeaux Cellars Ltd., was sentenced in the US to six years in prison for orchestrating a scam that cost investors almost $100 million.

Prosecutors said Burton was the mastermind of a scheme promising investors big payouts from loans to wealthy but cash-needy wine collectors, who he claimed put up their high-value collections as collateral. Instead, Burton and his business partner pocketed most of the investors' money for years, the government said.

Burton was sentenced in the US for the scheme involving bottles of rare vintages that didn’t exist. The case highlights ongoing scrutiny of the fine wine investment industry, where high-value bottles are used as supposed collateral for loans to collectors seeking liquidity.