Rudy Kurniawan's Rare Wine Fraud Scheme Will Be Featured on 'The Con'

Mar. 24 2021, Published 2:07 p.m. ET

Back within the early aughts, Rudy Kurniawan embedded himself within the uncommon wine world, where bottles would promote for hundreds of 1000's of bucks. He used to be a constant presence at tastings and auctions, and he prided himself on his skill to smell out counterfeit blends. Many seemed to him for advice on improving their very own collections. 

His love for Burgundy wine from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti estate earned him a nickname: Dr. Conti.

Kurniawan's personal assortment was estimated to be price millions, and he auctioned off elusive bottles for high prices over time. 

As his prowess in the wine international grew, so did skepticism about where he was getting his precious bottles from. People began to sniff Dr. Conti himself out for being a counterfeit wine connoisseur. A lawsuit and an investigation showed that many of the valuable wines he used to be selling have been falsely created in his house.

His scheme is the subject of the March 24 episode of ABC's The Con. There's a recent update about Rudy Kurniawan that will indisputably stun viewers. 

Keep studying to determine where Kurniawan is now, and for more of the background on his wine fraud.

What did Rudy Kurniawan do? Details on his wine fraud scam.

Originally from Indonesia, Kurniawan (his beginning identify is reportedly Zhen Wang Huang) came to the U.S. on pupil visa for school in the overdue '90s. In 2003, the same 12 months that he first began appearing at uncommon wine occasions, Kurniawan was ordered to publish to a voluntary deportation. He chose to stay within the U.S. with out documentation as an alternative.

He started purchasing and selling uncommon wine presently, and he began internet hosting his personal tastings to trap creditors. Kurniawan claimed that he had the cash to buy these rare bottles because his circle of relatives were successful in trade overseas.

At auctions, bottles from Kurniawan's elaborate collection would fetch tens of thousands and thousands of bucks. Just a few years after he made a reputation for himself within the fantastic wine community, Rudy Kurniawan's recognition soured.

In 2007, Kurniawan auctioned off bottles of 1982 Le Pin Bordeaux via Christie's. Representatives from the estate later confirmed that the wine was pretend.

Shortly thereafter, David Molyneaux-Berry, who was the pinnacle of wine at Sotheby's, shared that it used to be unimaginable for Kurniawan's 1947 bottles of Lafleur to be actual. 

In May of 2008, 22 bottles of Domaine Ponsot had been removed from public sale once they were came upon to be counterfeits. 

Fellow wine collector William "Bill" Koch ended up suing Rudy Kurniawan in 2009. He claimed that Kurniawan had knowingly offered him and different creditors counterfeit bottles of wine. 

He later defaulted on a mortgage from public sale house Acker, Merrall & Condit, where where he were promoting maximum of his expensive wine. 

In 2012, FBI brokers searched Kurniawan's home. They found out items that have been serving to him to bottle and create counterfeit wine (including labels, corks, stamps, and previous, unmarked bottles). He was arrested shortly thereafter. 

He went on trial in December of 2013, and he was once found responsible of wine fraud and mail fraud.

Rudy Kurniawan made historical past as the primary person to be convicted of promoting faux wines within the United States.

The 2016 documentary Sour Grapes is about Rudy Kurniawan's scheme.

Where is Rudy Kurniawan now? He was up for unlock in November of 2020.

After Kurniawan's conviction in overdue December of 2013, he began serving time on the Reeves County Detention Complex in Pecos, Texas. Though he won a 10-year sentence, Kurniawan changed into eligible for free up in November of 2020.

On November 6, 2020, Kurniawan used to be launched from prison. Because he is not a criminal resident of the United States, he is these days awaiting deportation to Indonesia at an ICE facility in New Mexico.

Rudy Kurniawan is now 44 years previous. 

The Con airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. 

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