Rudy Kurniawan, the Fake Wine Scammer who Pocketed Millions 

@@giapacella6771 They didn’t need to. There was so much evidence of his guilt that his attorneys were left complaining that nobody was hurt and arguing the sentence was too severe. They didn’t argue that he was innocent. But that isn’t possible when you steal that much money. When you’re stealing $30 million, people get hurt. I grew up in Woodland Hills. I’ve visited that wine store on Ventura Blvd. There are people there that hate him.

@Lpreilly72 Do you know who put the pallet on the rig for nyc auction...loaded sealed...me...fbi never questioned me.

@@Lpreilly72 dirty feds

@@erikbongnilsson246 Depends. I wouldn’t take a fake 1990 DRC if I could have the genuine article. But if he made a knock-off of Blue Nun? Yeah, I’d take the fake!🙂

@@Lpreilly72 I agree with you there! I wouldn't either absolutely not if I wanted to taste the real deal. I'm purely speculating about the potential market value, for the colectibility. But what would be really ironic is if it turns out these wines aged exceptionally and made people go crazy for them because of taste as well lol :)

@@erikbongnilsson246 Yes. But I doubt it. His DRCs were blends of cheaper wines from Napa and Sonoma. And, to listen to most sommeliers and burgundy fanatics, when you tasted the wines they were obvious fakes. (I wouldn’t know because I refuse to spend $16k on a bottle of wine.) Sour Grapes and that other doc made this clear. There was that burgundy expert and, with his friends, opened a case of Rudy’s wines from that auction. He said almost all were obvious fakes. Rudy was a super taster, that’s what got him his rep, but his wines were sh*t! Kinda ironic!

@@erikbongnilsson246 and don’t forget his charm and everyone’s current desire to understand him. The record of Rudy’s family in Indonesia is remarkable for its alleged criminality. Buts that’s never mentioned by his defenders/victims. They have my sympathy, however. The damage scammers cause far exceeds any monetary loss. And when you look deeper, you’ll find that the real victims aren’t the super rich, but ordinary people. Rudy did real damage to the wine industry and the people who pay the price are the pickers, shippers, vintners, processors, distributors right down to that wine shop on Ventura Blvd in Woodland Hills, where Rudy sold his first bottle. No millionaires there. Not even the owner of the shop.

Kapon did buy them back, but many took the fake wine and didn’t complain. Rudy had a magnificent palate and his victims didn’t. What they had was money.

@Lpreilly72 Personally I love Rudy...I knew him..Pasadena...and a lot more..

@@giapacella6771 I’m sure I’d like him too. Victims of fraud like the people who rip them off. They have to, for the fraud to work. But I wouldn’t trust that guy with a $5 bill. He’s a scammer, a crook, a thief, no different from Indian “technical support” scammers. The only difference is, his victims had money. But the people his family ripped off in that banking scandal were poor and were left with nothing.

@@giapacella6771 Kapons role is more than suspicious, from his own 99 ratings on Rudy’s blended swill, to his selling a case of 1955 DRC when only 800 bottles were made…in 1955. So not many left. And then Rudy kept selling through Kapon more and more bottles of the same rare vintage. And Kapon didn’t care with a 20% commission. That famous auction where Rudy was shown to be selling Ponsot unicorns-I.e. obvious fakes. Rudy had one case of a fifties vintage that hadn’t been made until the eighties. Kapon didn’t want to withdraw it. There wasn’t a single bottle of Rudy’s wines in that auction that could be authenticated.

@@giapacella6771 When’s the last time you heard from him?

@Lpreilly72 Long time ago...he was arrested the day my Father died hospital behind Santa Anita Race Track..

@@giapacella6771 I’m sorry for the loss of your father. I’m a lawyer whose specialty was criminal law. I’ve known fraud victims who LOVE the men who defrauded them. One guy ripped off an 80 year old lady of everything she had, impoverishing her and she still makes excuses for him. And Rudy falls into that category. He gives some guy a really expensive bottle of champagne and it’s fake and the guy is still amazed at his GENEROSITY! He sold his FRIENDS fake bottles at full price and they LOVE him for it. And he ADMITTED this fraud in open Court! I understand Rudy. Greed. I don’t understand his victims. They know he cheated them and they blame…law enforcement. Rudy is a genius. With no ethics.

@@giapacella6771 I’m not being argumentative. I’m just trying to understand. You haven’t heard from him since the day he was arrested and you love the guy. That seems to be the case with all his friends. He’s cut them off and they still love him.