US collector gets decade in jail for selling fake wines
Print Edition
A US collector convicted of making fake vintage wine in his California kitchen and selling it for tens of millions of dollars has been sentenced to a decade in prison by a judge who said he wanted to send a message to others who might tamper with what people eat and drink.
“The public at large needs to know our food and drinks are safe ... and not some potentially unsafe homemade witch’s brew,” US District Judge Richard M. Berman said on Thursday.
Rudy Kurniawan, a 37-year-old Indonesian citizen, was ordered to forfeit US$20 million and pay US$28.4 million in restitution.
Assistant US Attorney Stanley Okula concluded that Kurniawan had caused losses close to US$30 million, primarily to seven victims. One was William Koch, a billionaire yachtsman, entrepreneur and wine investor.
Koch testified at Kurniawan’s December trial, when Kurniawan was convicted of mail and wire fraud.
Before he was sentenced, Kurniawan twice apologized, saying “I’m really sorry” and expressing a desire to take care of his mother, who lives in California after receiving asylum.
Kurniawan, who moved to the United States at age 16, had his own request for political asylum turned down, and he was ordered deported in 2001. He continued to live in the United States after his appeal was rejected in 2003. He will be deported after he serves his sentence.
His lawyer, Jerome H. Mooney, asked for leniency, saying his client got swept up in the thrill of mixing with California’s wealthiest people.
“He was insecure, very insecure,” Mooney said. “He wanted to be them. He wanted to be part of it.”
Mooney said Kurniawan used some of his family’s fortune to buy US$40 million of wine, eventually selling US$36 million of it before he realized he could develop a business in which he created mixtures that tasted like the world’s greatest wines. “Nobody died. Nobody lost their savings. Nobody lost their job,” he said. The lawyer said the 2 1/2 years Kurniawan has served in prison was enough penalty, since he had lost everything.
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