The whole episode is weird because the SLA is incredibly officious about minor things that don’t reflect on honestly. For example, they enforce the rule that distributors have to ship COD if a merchant is behind in its payments even if the distributor would be happy to help a customer by continuing to extend credit. And they shut down Whole Foods’ first wine store in NYC because it didn’t have a “separate entrance,” as required, even though it had its own cashiers and door within the larger WF space and you could walk by the supermarket checkout lines. It was years before WF got another license.
The fact that these guys weren’t fired certainly makes one suspicious that they were doing this with the store’s knowledge/approval. Why would the store buy booze from someone other than the authorized distributor in bottles without the right packaging?
But when you add to that mix the fact that Acker sold at least $40 million worth worth of counterfeit wine for Rudy Kurniawan, sold tens of millions worth of wine for Eric Greenberg, who a Federal jury found had knowingly sold counterfeit wines through auction to Bill Koch, and that Acker has been caught many, many times offering counterfeit bottles of ultra-rare wines at auction, it really makes you think there is virtually nothing Mr. Kapon could do which would get Acker’s license suspended. In the Rudy era he got the nickname Teflon John. It sure seems to fit.
I doubt this is true. Don’t be alarmist. NY has tough alcohol laws and even here the NYSLA went after Acker for the sale rather than the individual employee buyers. I would be surprised if every state made it illegal to buy privately. Check Missouri. Selling privately is a different matter. That I would bet is outlawed in all 50.
I said “buy”, but I’m just talking about private transactions involving alcohol not being legal. As far as who they might go after, that’s a discussion for attorneys and DAs.
FYI, the SEC filed suit yesterday in LA against Charles Winn LLC, the firm that was targeted in state enforcement actions in 2021, as Don C detailed above.
The SEC alleges that the firm raised $8.5 million from 121 investors, mostly elderly, allegedly to invest in wine. In fact, Winn spent it mostly on commissions and salaries and refused to let investors sell their holdings.
It looks like a straight-up scam from the start – not a legitimate business that got in trouble and then started misrepresenting things.
Thanks John. I was surprised to see that the SEC lawsuit is filed here in Los Angeles.
As some people might remember, an individual named Casey Alexander, who was one of the principal sales people involved this fraud was arrested in Ohio in June of 2022. I was also surprised to see in paragraph 18 of the SEC complaint that on March 21, 2023, Alexander waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud arising out of a fraudulent offer and sale of wine and whiskey investments to U.S. investors. He is also named as defendant in the SEC’s lawsuit, which seeks permanent injunctions against the principals, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, criminal penalties and orders barring the principals from being officers of public companies.
However, all of the individual defendants appear to be UK citizens, so I’m unclear how that would work.
Yes, I’d guess the SEC will end up taking a default judgment. It’s hard to see why the defendants would enter an appearance through a lawyer, let alone show up in court.
It’s only civil penalties, of course, since the SEC has no criminal jurisdiction.
No information on this tasting per se, but Rudy has been attending several wine dinners in Hong Kong and Singapore and has been bringing bottles of his counterfeit wines to a number of them. In at least some instances apparently, Rudy tells people that the wine is counterfeit.
Some serious wine collectors in Hong Kong have refused to allow Rudy to attend wine dinners with them – for which I salute them.
In at least one instance in Singapore where Rudy attended a dinner with a well known collector, he was observed taking the empty bottles, corks and capsules when he left. Obviously that was the same conduct that he engaged in previously which was discussed at his trial in New York.
While I suppose I would have a morbid curiosity to taste what Rudy considers some of his better concoctions, actually inviting the man out for dinner is a bit much.
If he can make a '90 DRC RC that is so spot on that it fools the experts I honestly think he has a legitimate business model he could legitimately capitalize upon and make real money with these knockoff/fake wines. For real.
