Wine Counterfeiter Receives 10-Year Prison Sentence

According to New York Southern District U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, a man
who allegedly operated a wine counterfeiting laboratory from his California
residence between 2004 and 2012 has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Rudy Kurniawan apparently became a prominent and prolific U.S. dealer of rare and expensive wine that was actually lower-priced wine blended to
mimic the taste and character of far better wines. He allegedly purchased
empty bottles of rare and expensive wines—some of them from New York
City restaurants—poured his mixtures into them, sealed the bottles, and
then attached counterfeit labels that he created. The fakes were then sold to
wealthy wine collectors through auctions and by direct sales. According to
a news source, Kurniawan was eventually caught through misspellings and
other packaging errors, including early 20th century dates on some bottles
that pre-dated their actual production.

Kurniawan also allegedly fraudulently obtained a $3-million loan from a New
York City financing company that specialized in securing loans with valuable
collectibles, including art and wine. The U.S. attorney said, “Kurniawan
obtained the loan by providing false information to, and concealing information
from, the financing company, including falsely omitting approximately
$7.4 million in outstanding loans, falsely representing his annual expenses,
and falsely representing that he was a permanent resident of the United
States when he had no legal immigration status in the United States and
had, in fact, been ordered by an immigration court to leave the country
years earlier.” The sentencing court also ordered the 37-year-old to forfeit
$20 million and pay restitution of nearly $28.5 million. See U.S. Department of
Justice Press Release and Courthouse News Service, August 7, 2014.

Issue 533