This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28697722
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan gets 10 years in jail | Wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan gets 10 years in jail |
(35 minutes later) | |
Wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan, 37, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail and ordered to pay $20m (£11.8m) for his role in selling millions of dollars worth of fake wine. | Wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan, 37, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail and ordered to pay $20m (£11.8m) for his role in selling millions of dollars worth of fake wine. |
He has also been ordered to pay $28.4m in restitution to victims, who include billionaire William Koch. | He has also been ordered to pay $28.4m in restitution to victims, who include billionaire William Koch. |
Mr Kurniawan is the first person ever to go to jail for selling fake wine in the US. | |
He was found guilty of mixing old wine with newer vintages in his kitchen. | |
Mr Kurnaiwan then passed them off as even more expensive wines. | |
The scheme ran from 2004 to 2012, according to government prosecutors. In December, he was found guilty of committing wire and mail fraud. | |
As an Indonesian national, Mr Kurniawan will be deported once his sentence is served. He has already spent two years in jail since being arrested in March of 2012. | As an Indonesian national, Mr Kurniawan will be deported once his sentence is served. He has already spent two years in jail since being arrested in March of 2012. |
'Extravagant purchases' | |
An avid collector himself, Kurniawan was once considered one of the best aficionados in the world. | |
In 2006 alone, it was believed he sold up to 12,000 bottles at auction. | |
But authorities were said to have found thousands of labels for fine Burgundy and Bordeaux wine along with full, unlabelled bottles in Kurniawan's home. | |
Prosecutors argued Kurniawan deserved a longer sentence because he flaunted his ill-gotten gains "with extravagant purchases of authentic wine, luxury cars, a Beverly Hills mansion, flights on private jets, designer watches and clothing, fine art and much more". |