The whisky barrel investment scam has fraudulently separated hundreds of millions of dollars from victims. Their police departments are in real financial distress after losing millions of pounds in this fraudulent scam. Cask Whisky Ltd are the architects of this wholesale disaster. Craig Arch, whose real name is Craig Brooks, heads up the company. Brooks is still a disqualified director and a convicted fraudster. In 2019, Brooks was sentenced to three years in prison for carrying out a £6.2 million fraud. He defrauded 350 victims of $2 million by convincing them to invest in carbon credits and “rare earth metals.”
Brooks and his brother served time in prison for their part in the earlier fraud case. Undeterred by his criminal past, Brooks resumed his deceitful activities under the guise of Cask Whisky Ltd and Cask Spirits Global Ltd, using the alias Craig Hutchins for the latter. His operations have sunk investors such as Jay Evans, who poured £76,000 into the firm after being told he had terminal cancer in 2021. Evans was forced to list her house for sale in order to pay for her investment in whisky casks.
At the moment, The City of London Police’s Serious and Organised Crime team are investigating Cask Whisky Ltd. The scale of the fraud is mind-boggling. As a result, thousands of previously ill-informed investors are left wondering just how genuine their ownership is in those casks they believed they had acquired.
One of those investors is Alison Cocks, who invested £103,000 in Cask Whisky Ltd. She’s now left struggling with the question of whether she truly even owns the casks she purchased. The fix is made worse by third actor, Whisky Scotland, which too has left a string of unhappy private investors in its wake. That’s why Geoff Owens decided to invest his life savings of more than £100,000 with Whisky Scotland. He was astonished to discover that the company’s Glasgow office consisted of a rented desk—without any substantive activity.
Martin Armstrong runs Whisky Broker, a bonded warehouse in Creetown, near Dumfries that holds more than 48,000 casks. Armstrong’s very real, very legitimate business serves as a sharp contrast to the bad faith fraudulent operations unravelling around the country. Kenny Macdonald runs Dram Mor, a well-known whisky cask brokerage. This goes to show that not every player in the smart growth industry is villainous.
Geoff Owens had the courage to come forward and testify against the fraudulent practices that he saw. He is bravely illuminating the sordid deception that overwhelms the whisky investment sector.
“And then you get the ones who are downright nasty. And they’re selling somebody a piece of paper, for a cask that just never existed.” – Geoff Owens
Her experience is a reminder of just how predatory these scams can be. Investors looking to cash in on whisky barrel investments are still left open to abuse.
Brooks confessed to one undercover BBC reporter that he is in charge of “decision making” and financial operations for Cask Spirits Global Ltd. His role with the company was only further brought to light through this revelation. Each new bombshell has only deepened the layers of the sordid web of treachery that Brooks has been revealed to have constructed.
The whisky barrel investment scam has ruined thousands of victims. They are still coming to grips with their losses and fighting hard for justice. Owens made clear his desire to see the people responsible for Flint’s tragedy held accountable.
“No-one is going to rip me off and walk away from this, without me facing you,” – Geoff Owens
The consequences of these scams go deeper than just losing money. Victims like Evans and Cocks pay a deep emotional price. They grapple with broken hearts, crumbled foundations, and a lost sense of security. The ongoing criminal investigation by law enforcement provides a fighting chance for these men and women. They actively pursue restitution and closure.