We’ve all read about notorious criminals who, after pulling off a clever heist, were caught, served time, then applied their talents to a legitimate trade. Consider Kevin Mitnick, the brilliant computer hacker who was imprisoned for multiple cybercrimes, then launched a globally successful cybersecurity company upon his release. Or the check forging master of disguise, Frank William Abagnale, whose captivating capers form the basis of the movie Catch Me If You Can. Abagnale went on to become a respected security consultant, hired by the FBI and major corporations. Perhaps the latest addition to this bad-boy-gone-legit club is Rudy Kurniawan, the world’s most gifted wine forger.
Back in Business
The story of Rudy Kurniawan’s rise and fall is told in the award-winning book In Vino Duplicitas, and the documentary film Sour Grapes. In short, Kurniawan was a young and charismatic wine dealer who scammed wealthy collectors out of millions of dollars by selling counterfeit concoctions disguised as rare labels of the finest quality. In 2014, he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for wine fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud. I originally covered Kurniawan’s story in 2019, followed by two updates: one in July 2020 while he was still behind bars, and the second in November 2020 after his release.
Kurniawan is arguably the best-known wine forger in history, so many people were keen to find out where he landed after his deportation to Indonesia. Part of his sentencing included over $28 million in restitution, and it’s unclear if he ever fully settled these debts—another reason why people wanted to track him down. I would periodically look for news of his whereabouts without success. However, last year, Kurniawan resurfaced in the headlines of popular wine magazines. He was back in business, still attending lavish parties and still formulating fakes. Only this time, his clients were happy to pay equally outrageous sums to give them a try.
The Making of a Mogul
Kurniawan came to the United States in 1998 to study accounting at California State University. It’s unclear how long he remained a student or whether he ever completed a semester. Perhaps his student visa was simply an entry ticket to a world of wealthy marks. What is known is that the Kurniawan family is ripe with energetic grifters. One of Rudy’s uncles fled Indonesia after committing bank fraud of more than $200 million. Another uncle embezzled $420 million from an Indonesian bank and then bribed his way out of prison.
With money to fund a jetsetting lifestyle, the bespectacled and unassuming Rudy was soon rubbing elbows with members of L.A.’s wealthy wine circles. He couldn’t have picked a better time to enter the counterfeiting business. Between 2003 and 2006, Wine Spectator’s Auction Index rose by 54 percent. For those with money to burn, wine was the fun and happening way to invest, and Kurniawan was poised to profit from this latest mania.
Gaining investor confidence, however, required both money and talent. Kurniawan first seduced future clients by driving flashy cars, wearing designer clothing, hosting lavish wine tastings, and outbidding other wine collectors at high-profile auctions. When you casually drop $120,000 for a single bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, considered the best Burgundy the world has to offer, people take note. Follow that with a catered soirée in an upscale venue where you uncork a couple dozen ultra-rare vintages, and people begin to think you’re one heck of a nice guy.
Kurniawan’s new friends, however, were not only impressed with his money. Rudy clearly knew a lot about wine. Wine auctioneer John Kapon said that Rudy once correctly identified “ten out of twelve burgundies that he tasted blind.” Even wines made from a combination of grapes seemed to pose little challenge. Rudy was able to pick out each variety, noting the character that it brought to the final blend.
A Tricky Business
Once Kurniawan had established himself as a wealthy and knowledgeable collector, he began fabricating his fakes and selling them at auction. In 2006, Rudy consigned portions of his collection to two major auctions at Acker, Merral & Condit, allegedly the oldest wine merchant in North America. The first auction netted $10.6 million. The second brought in $24.7 million, a record for a single sale of wine that beat the previous record by more than $10 million.
The story of Kurniawan’s downfall and eventual imprisonment is covered in my previous posts. Suffice it to say that when you bamboozle the rich, they have plenty of resources to go after you if they smell a rat. One of Kurniawan’s patsies was billionaire Bill Koch, who spent more than $20 million on an investigative team—composed of lawyers, scientists, and retired law enforcement officials—to determine how he’d been cheated.
Like a Phoenix
Sometimes it seems like the 21st century has become the era of doubling down. Do people ever admit to wrongdoing and turn over a new leaf anymore? At least in the case of Kurniawan, he’s acknowledging his transgressions. Only this time, he’s using the same skills, underpinned by his criminal celebrity, to entice the beau monde of Hong Kong and Singapore. According to Kurniawan’s lawyer, Jerry Mooney, “many people like Rudy’s [blends] better than the real deal.”
As someone who harbors a certain degree of scorn for self-proclaimed wine aficionados, I can see the appeal of a Kurniawan-themed bash. According to wine fraud expert Maureen Downey, wealthy clients now hire Rudy to make copies of the finest wines in their private collections. They then host a sumptuous dinner featuring a blind wine tasting. Guests are challenged to compare Rudy’s concoctions with the high-priced originals.
It’s a win-win scenario for invitees. If you correctly select the rare and coveted label, hats off! Consider yourself in the same league as people who have spent decades refining their palates. If instead you choose the Kurniawan fake, congratulations! You’ve been duped by the most celebrated wine counterfeiter in history and, unlike his other victims, you didn’t pay a cent for the privilege.
It’s All Sour Grapes
There’s nothing illegal about openly creating fake wines to impress rich party-goers. If larceny is in the Kurniawan blood, however, it might be the case that these jet-setting soirées serve as both test lab and focus group for a larger underground enterprise. Counterfeit wines remain prevalent worldwide, and Rudy has had plenty of time to consider how to relaunch a less traceable operation.
It’s also conceivable that Kurniawan could turn his newly refined formulas into a legitimate business. The market for high-quality reproductions might well exceed the market for originals. I’m willing to bet that if Kurniawan were on the label, a lot of people would pay $150 for counterfeits that mimic vintages worth more than $15,000.
I’m hoping Rudy’s dealings remain on the up and up. I’d love to see his mixtures circulating far and wide, debunking the notion that high-end wines are genuinely worth the money or that their collectors are as discerning as they claim to be. At the time of his sentencing, legal experts noted that Kurniawan’s punishment was considerably harsher than typical, probably due to the high profile of his victims. Perhaps the sweetest revenge he could exact would be to elevate the legitimacy of imitation wines, thereby undermining the value of his pursuers’ meticulously curated collections.
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Wine forgery! I had never heard of such a thing, though given the amounts of money involved, I can see now how the incentive would exist to learn how to produce fake high-end wine.
The fact that Kurniawan had such opportunities, though, is due to the weird pretensions of the wine-connoisseur world, for which I share your confessed scorn. How can one bottle of wine really be “worth” $120,000 in any real sense? What qualities could any drink have that would make a single glass of it more valuable than a used car or a year’s rent on my apartment? The only way a bottle of wine could be worth $120,000 is if you believe you could sell it on later to an even more pretentious aficionado for an even greater price. The whole thing has an air of Dutch tulip bulb about it.
It’s perhaps going too far to say that anyone willing to pay that kind of money for wine deserves to be cheated, though they aren’t high up on my list of people to feel sorry for. Still, I agree with your closing observation. Kurniawan clearly has a real, if unusual, talent. Let him use it to make an honest living for a change, while incidentally letting some air out of a long-overinflated bubble.
You’re right Infidel that the wealthy wine investors don’t deserve to be cheated but it’s worth noting the range of reactions that Kurniawan’s swindles provoked. Some of his victims shrugged it off. They have plenty of money and had a great time partying it up with Rudy. Knowing they were cheated, doesn’t change that fact. Happily, they could afford the loss. Any wine investment (in fact almost any investment) runs the risk of turning sour, loosing value, or even becoming worthless.
Bill Koch took his losses extraordinarily personally. Kurniawan is not the only counterfeiter who managed to pull the wool over his eyes. Koch had previously paid $400,000 for bottles of wine that were alleged to be from Thomas Jefferson’s personal collection. When Koch found out he’d been duped, he ended up spending $35 million tracking and prosecuting the German dealer that had sold him the fakes. He won the legal battle but never received a penny in restitution nor did his tormentor serve any time behind bars.
Yes, I’d love to see Kurniawan make an honest living. He has the potential to become a sort of Robin Hood of the wine industry, stealing the savors of the rich to give to the lower classes.
Great article. I’d never heard of this guy before.
Glad you enjoyed it. I recommend you find a way to watch the documentary Sour Grapes. It will give you greater insights.
Wealthy clients hire him to make fakes and then have a party? Some people have too much time and money on their hands in this troubled world!
“Some people have too much time and money on their hands in this troubled world!” Very true Caroline.
Although one might argue that people who hire Kurniawan to liven up their parties get a more ethical return on investment than those investing in say, Trump meme coin.
Well, now. I guess everything’s relative!
I wonder if the Rudys of the world can ever break away from the desire to “put one over” on people sufficiently to “go straight.”
I’m certainly with you in your impatience with ostentatious wine connoisseurs and their ilk. And I guess anything that’s pricey evokes imitations: I recall reading about the vast increase in fake fragrances recently. That reminded me of a fun freelance writing assignment I had years ago, putting together descriptions for a “glossary of fragrances.” I was told to make up one phony perfume. Readers who could discern which fragrance was the fake won something. I created “Mon Cher Chien,” which was “rich in animalic undertones.” But nobody could buy “Mon Cher Chien” or be harmed or cheated in any way!
That’s hilarious Annie. What’s not to love about the cachet of “Mon cher chien”? Not be confused with the inferior knock-off brand “Chien mouillé”.
I’d never heard of wine forgery before… I would tend to side with the Robin Hood aspect. Charging moronic rich an exorbitant sum for wine… Not bad…
On the other hand spending 20Million bucks to get back? He could have given the money to AA?
Merci pour un article inhabituel. (You normally do unusual topics… )
Bonne semaine “Carole”.
Haha! Yes, AA would be a good start.
wow, fascinating, had not heard about him
Kurniawan is an interesting character to be sure.
Super article! Je ne connaissais pas ce monsieur. J’apprécie tout particulièrement ton humour envers le snobisme du vin. Je le partage.
Et les caricatures sont super. Merci, Carol!
Merci pour votre commentaire. 🙂