Wine dealer swindled clients out of millions by selling fake concoctions

Mixing random bottles of wine and pawning the results off to others sounds like something you might do on a slow night in with your friends — but that's what just got renowned wine dealer Rudy Kurniawan sentenced to 10 years in prison. The New York Times reports Kurniawan was convicted Thursday of defrauding clients out of millions of dollars, which they shelled out for bottles of "purportedly rare and sought-after wines that were actually old bottles of wine mixed together, complete with fake labels."

The jig was up when, following a raid of Kurniawan's Los Angeles-area home, files were found on the wine dealer's computer that included scanned images of old wine labels, the Times reports. His home also apparently resembled a "winemaking factory," as there were bottles scattered everywhere.

The prosecution estimated that Kurniawan cost his victims — including billionaire William I. Koch and Univision CFO Andrew Hobson — roughly $20.7 million in total. In addition to jail time, Kurniawan had to fork over $20 million and also pay more than $28 million in restitution, the Times wrote. He may also be deported to Indonesia when he finishes his prison sentence.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up