Wine Spectator: Federal Court Rejects Wine Counterfeiter’s Appeal

Convicted wine counterfeiter Rudy Kurniawan is running short on options. A federal appeals court announced yesterday that a three-judge panel had rejected his appeal of his 2013 conviction for mail and wire fraud arising from schemes to sell counterfeit wine.

The judges from the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals announced their ruling with a summary order, a bad sign for Kurniawan. “A summary order is not for close decisions,” said a lawyer familiar with federal appellate practice. “It signals that the judges didn’t feel that this was a real close case and that the trial judge got it right. So a lengthy explanation is unnecessary. This order was slick and quick.”

Kurniawan has a few legal options remaining, but they’re not promising. Wine Spectator has the full story.

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