RUDY KURNIAWAN & GLOBAL WINE AUCTION FRAUD THREAD (MERGED)

[PCLIN]

Thanks, will watch it on Hulu.

[Jurgen_Steinke]

Don,

thank you very much for this information. Very helpful!

All the best to you. Stay healthy.

[Steen_T_Olsen]

Deleted.

[John_Danza]

As for posters here about Acker, John, and Rudy also.

I think it’s perfectly fine to remind everyone about those people who were knowingly involved in the scam, yet have avoided legal punishment.

[Victor_Hong]

As for posters here about Acker, John, and Rudy also.

I think it’s perfectly fine to remind everyone about those people who were knowingly involved in the scam, yet have avoided legal punishment.

Laughing all the way to the bank, in some cases, hoping that forgotten victims will enable new ones. Consider the multiple schemes by Ray Walker. Thank you.

[Don_Cornwell]

Just heard back from one of the producers, looks like March airdate. Maybe Don has more details?

[Updated] Yes, sometime in March. The final date is not set. Right now the best guess is Wednesday March 24th or Wednesday, March 31st

I finally have an air date for the documentary about Rudy. It is scheduled to air on Wednesday March 24th @ 10p (EST & PST) / 9p Central on ABC News.

“The Wine Con” is on ABC this evening at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific and 9 pm Central and Mountain. Whoopi Goldberg is the narrator for the show (as she is for the entire series). I have seen the trailer but not the show itself.

[Siun_O_Connell]

Watching … really nice to see the acknowledgement of Don!

[Nick_Gangas]

Damn I missed this.

[Mel_Hill]

Damn I missed this.

you should be able to watch online

Watch The Con Season 1 Episode 7 The Con: Wine Online

My photo of Rudy appears twice, once just before the first commercial break and then in
the second segment. One thing I found funny is that they have Rudy on camera talking about the very auction
lot my photo depicts him purchasing.

WB’ers is covered in the third or fourth act.

[Sean_Devaney]

I enjoyed the show. It was nice to be able to put faces with the names. I did notice that Don was less hirsute than his avatar would lead one the believe

[Victor_Hong]

I enjoyed the show. It was nice to be able to put faces with the names. I did notice that Don was less hirsute than his avatar would lead one the believe

Does that indirectly imply that the ears are accurately portrayed?

[HoosJustinG]

Essentially a condensed version of Sour Grapes, though there was a bit more info about the genesis of the FBI investigation being concurrently done with the enthusiast community sleuthing. Still no real indictment of any co “conspirators” or anything like that.

[Don_Cornwell]

I had very mixed feelings watching the show. I was happy that the story finally got on network TV. I was pleased to see that my colleagues Geoffrey Troy and Doug Barzelay were included this time and that the interviews of them didn’t end up on the cutting room floor (as happened with Sour Grapes). I appreciated being credited as one of the principals that helped bring Rudy to justice.

But they greatly simplified things and made Rudy appear to be a one-man band who somehow did everything by himself. There was no mention of Rudy receiving help (and fake labels) from his brother in Indonesia. Most importantly, there was no discussion that it “took a village” of promoters, aiders and abettors to make it happen, i.e., Acker and John Kapon, Allen Meadows, Christie’s, Zachy’s, Spectrum, and all of the distributors and “straw men” who helped sell Rudy’s counterfeits, such as Antonio Castanos, Marc Lazar, Richard Brierley, Kristoffer-Meier Axel and Xavier Nebout.

In particular, they eliminated all of the footage they shot about how Christie’s deliberately chose to sell wines consigned directly by Rudy despite knowing Rudy’s prior history of selling counterfeits and despite their knowledge that the proceeds of the Christie’s sales of Rudy’s wines were to be directly paid to a victim who had previously purchased $2 million worth of counterfeit wine from Rudy and to Acker Merrall, who by then had an $8 million consent judgment against Rudy by virtue of the returns from the Cellar I and Cellar II auctions due to counterfeit wine concerns.

[Victor_Hong]

I had very mixed feelings watching the show. I was happy that the story finally got on network TV. I was pleased to see that my colleagues Geoffrey Troy and Doug Barzelay were included this time and that the interviews of them didn’t end up on the cutting room floor (as happened with Sour Grapes). I appreciated being credited as one of the principals that helped bring Rudy to justice.

But they greatly simplified things and made Rudy appear to be a one-man band who somehow did everything by himself. There was no mention of Rudy receiving help (and fake labels) from his brother in Indonesia. Most importantly, there was no discussion that it “took a village” of promoters, aiders and abettors to make it happen, i.e., Acker and John Kapon, Allen Meadows, Christie’s, Zachy’s, Spectrum, and all of the distributors and “straw men” who helped sell Rudy’s counterfeits, such as Antonio Castanos, Marc Lazar, Richard Brierley, Kristoffer-Meier Axel and Xavier Nebout.

In particular, they eliminated all of the footage they shot about how Christie’s deliberately chose to sell wines consigned directly by Rudy despite knowing Rudy’s prior history of selling counterfeits and despite their knowledge that the proceeds of the Christie’s sales of Rudy’s wines were to be directly paid to a victim who had previously purchased $2 million worth of counterfeit wine from Rudy and to Acker Merrall, who by then had an $8 million consent judgment against Rudy by virtue of the returns from the Cellar I and Cellar II auctions due to counterfeit wine concerns.

The co-conspirators who got away are the saddest and most angering part of this saga. Great, courageous job you did. You are a role model of integrity.

[AndrewH]

What we do is not rocket science. In my case, it is very much like David Glasser said about Highlights for Children magazine at the doctor’s office, i.e. “What’s wrong with this picture?” Sure, it helps to have a sharp eye for detail and proportion, and it also helps to have compiled a huge file of exemplar labels over the years to refer to. The rest of it comes from doing what is usually quick research – either looking at Google images or running searches, or both. If you don’t know about a particular label or a particular Chateau or have doubts – simply look it up. For example, I didn’t really know the history of L’Eglise Clinet, but in less than three minutes I found a very detailed history of the producer and enough information to prove that the 1947 Chateau L’Eglise Clinet never existed as a wine label. After another three or four minutes I had a number of label exemplars which confirmed the printed history information.

I am very impressed by your abilities. I am also very surprised that counterfeiters can’t do much the same and make labels that are much more hard to distinguish from the real ones.

In particular, they eliminated all of the footage they shot about how Christie’s deliberately chose to sell wines consigned directly by Rudy despite knowing Rudy’s prior history of selling counterfeits and despite their knowledge that the proceeds of the Christie’s sales of Rudy’s wines were to be directly paid to a victim who had previously purchased $2 million worth of counterfeit wine from Rudy and to Acker Merrall, who by then had an $8 million consent judgment against Rudy by virtue of the returns from the Cellar I and Cellar II auctions due to counterfeit wine concerns.

Perhaps legal counsel suggested that, even with strong facts, it wasn’t worth antagonizing a well-healed company?

[Victor_Hong]

What we do is not rocket science. In my case, it is very much like David Glasser said about Highlights for Children magazine at the doctor’s office, i.e. “What’s wrong with this picture?” Sure, it helps to have a sharp eye for detail and proportion, and it also helps to have compiled a huge file of exemplar labels over the years to refer to. The rest of it comes from doing what is usually quick research – either looking at Google images or running searches, or both. If you don’t know about a particular label or a particular Chateau or have doubts – simply look it up. For example, I didn’t really know the history of L’Eglise Clinet, but in less than three minutes I found a very detailed history of the producer and enough information to prove that the 1947 Chateau L’Eglise Clinet never existed as a wine label. After another three or four minutes I had a number of label exemplars which confirmed the printed history information.

I am very impressed by your abilities. I am also very surprised that counterfeiters can’t do much the same and make labels that are much more hard to distinguish from the real ones.

In particular, they eliminated all of the footage they shot about how Christie’s deliberately chose to sell wines consigned directly by Rudy despite knowing Rudy’s prior history of selling counterfeits and despite their knowledge that the proceeds of the Christie’s sales of Rudy’s wines were to be directly paid to a victim who had previously purchased $2 million worth of counterfeit wine from Rudy and to Acker Merrall, who by then had an $8 million consent judgment against Rudy by virtue of the returns from the Cellar I and Cellar II auctions due to counterfeit wine concerns.

Perhaps legal counsel suggested that, even with strong facts, it wasn’t worth antagonizing a well-healed company?

I doubt that Christie’s would have dared to sue for defamation. Just the return fusillade of discovery requests for incriminating information would have put the prospective plaintiff on those heels.

[Marlon_F]

Damn I missed this.

you should be able to watch online

Watch The Con Season 1 Episode 7 The Con: Wine Online

My photo of Rudy appears twice, once just before the first commercial break and then in
the second segment. One thing I found funny is that they have Rudy on camera talking about the very auction
lot my photo depicts him purchasing.

WB’ers is covered in the third or fourth act.

Is it the picture of him seated at a dark chair while someone is serving him ???

[Nick_Ellis]

What was the point of the woman who appeared to be in the midst of a methamphetamine binge that kept screaming at the camera?

Just to clarify, I’m not talking about John Kapon.

[Don_Cornwell]

What was the point of the woman who appeared to be in the midst of a methamphetamine binge that kept screaming at the camera?

Just to clarify, I’m not talking about John Kapon.

If you are referring to the ABC reporter who kept popping up during the program, I have never seen her name before or heard of her previously in connection with Rudy.

[Jurgen_Steinke]

It seems that the film could not be watched if someone is outside the US. Right? Any ideas?