Columnist Sees Irony in Alleged Wine Fraud

In the wake of last week's news about that would have been worth $1.3 million if real, venerable Pasadena Star-News columnist found an irony in Kurniawan's situation.

Writing in Sunday's paper, Wilson notes that Kurniawan himself warned about fakes:

Funny thing is I remember reading a profile of Kurniawan five years ago, when he was just beginning to push wine auction prices into the stratosphere, in which he warned against just such a scam as costs for first-growth French bottles were rising.

Kurniawan is charged in several allegedly fraudulent plots involving his wine business, including trying to sell counterfeit wine and taking out millions of dollars in loans to finance a lavish lifestyle.

Wilson also suggests that the rising market for such investment-grade wines has increased the temptation to perpetrate the type of fraud with which Kurniawan is charged.

Read Wilson's full column here.