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Wine collector guilty of fraud in $1.3M counterfeit scandal

Self-proclaimed Burgundy expert Rudy Kurniawan was found guilty Wednesday of selling millions of dollars in counterfeit wine over nearly a decade to a deep-pocked clientele that includes billionaire William “Bill” Koch.

A Manhattan federal court jury took less than two hours to convict Rudy Kurniawan, 37, on all counts of mail and wire fraud in what was the feds’ first-ever criminal case involving wine counterfeiting.

He remained in custody following the verdict and faces up to 40 years behind bars when sentenced April 24.

The sink Kurniawan used to soak wine labels to make them appear vinage

“I don’t feel pity – that’s for sure. He did it,” said French wine titan Laurent Ponsot, a government witness in the case who was in court as the jury read its decision.

“As a passionate wine maker, this is not what I expect from my wines,” added Ponsot, who had testified that he flew to Manhattan in 2008 to pull 97 bottles of wine Kurniawan falsely claimed came from his winery after sniffing out they were obvious fakes.

Prosecutors told jurors that Kurniawan tricked his buyers into thinking he had uncovered a “magic wine cellar” in Europe — but in reality mixed a “witches’ brew” of cheap French wines and California blends at home and then sold it as rare reds and whites, routinely for tens of thousands of dollars a pop. The feds also say he used his home computer and printer to cunningly create the fake labels .

Koch, Ponsot and renowned French wine maker Aubert de Villaine were among the top wine aficionados the government rolled out in a trial that began Dec. 9 while also dazzling jurors with dozens of bottles of fake wine and hundreds of wine labels, corks and other items associated with the alleged fraud.

Koch had testified he spent $2.1 million buying 219 fake bottles of wine from Kurniawan and has since spent $25 million on his own “personal crusade” to rid the world of vino counterfeiters.

“The high-end auction of wines too often was and is done without a care for the wine’s provenance or concern for the consumer,” said Koch, who testified he spent $2.1 million buying 219 fake bottles of wine from Kurniawan and has since spent $25 million on his own “personal crusade” to rid the world of vino counterfeiters.

“I hope Rudy Kurniawan’s conviction, the ongoing efforts of the federal authorities and my continued commitment to expose wine fraud will change the industry for the better and protect consumers.”

Kurniawan – who was busted in March 2012 after spending about a decade as one of the country’s leading wine connoisseurs — sat mum with his head down as the verdict was read.

His lawyer, Jerome Mooney, said afterwards that his client was “disappointed obviously” but would appeal the decision. Mooney said he believes the feds conducted an improper search of Kurniawan’s Acadia, Calif. home before arresting him and seizing millions of dollars in properties, fancy cars and other assets.

“There was certainly a lot of evidence in the trial that there was a `don’t ask, don’t tell’ situation in the industry with regard to wine being sold,” said Mooney.

The lawyer claims his client never made counterfeit wine. He said Kurniawan was instead duped into buying the fake vino and then unknowingly sold it.

When asked why the feds found thousands of wine bottles, corks and other paraphernalia used to make wine at Kurniawan’s home, Mooney claimed it was because Kurniawan is “obsessive about keeping thing.”

The lawyer also revealed that Kurniawan’s family once actually owned a beer distribution company in Indonesia while discussing his client’s fight to remain in the United States despite the government’s claim that he should be deported.

Kurniawan was famed for hosting lavish late-night tasting parties at restaurants, including the since-closed Cru in Greenwich Village.