| Abstract: |
A well-known wine dealer was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of defrauding wealthy clients out of millions of dollars by selling them bottles of purportedly rare and sought-after wines that were actually old bottles of wine mixed together, complete with fake labels. The dealer, Rudy Kurniawan, had become a renowned figure on the rare wine scene, spending and making millions of dollars on wine sales every year. In 2006, he sold $35 million worth of wine. Kurniawan will trade his life of luxury for time behind bars. Despite selling to some of the world’s leading wine enthusiasts, Kurniawan was able to make them believe his bottles were not only real, but also rare, owing to the reputation of his encyclopedic cellar and finely tuned palate.“Rudy Kurniawan planned and executed an intricate counterfeit wine scheme,” said Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. |
