US police have begun selling off the lavish purchases of imprisoned wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan in order to help repay millions of dollars that he owes to victims.
Rudy Kurniawan, who made cheap copies of some of the world’s finest and rarest wines in his Los Angeles kitchen, bought a range of luxury items with his profits.
Fast cars were a particular penchant for the wine fraudster, also known as Dr Conti for his in-depth knowledge – and subsequent prolific counterfeiting – of Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanée Conti wine estate.
US marshals will sell off three Kurniawan’s cars at auction on 29 October, including a 2008 Lamborghini Murciélago sports car with only 938 miles on the clock.
The other cars to be auctioned, in Rancho Cucamonga, California, are a 2008 Land Rover Range Rover with 36,739 miles and a 2011 Mercedes Benz G-Class SUV with 866 miles on the clock. Prices estimates were not given.
Thousands of bottles of Kurniawan’s wine will also be sold off at a later date, the marshalls said. Those are the wines that were authenticated as genuine in Kurniawan’s cellar.
Top fake wine hunters such as Maureen Downey – now the founder of winefraud.com – were recruited to inspect Kurniawan’s cellar.
The sales come as Indonesian born Kurniawan has continued to appeal against his conviction for making and selling counterfeit wine, as well as for fraudulently attempting to obtain a $3m loan. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year.
Kurniawan was ordered to repay $28.4m to victims at the time of his sentencing.
