Posted on 05/22/2019 12:19:45 PM PDT by LibWhacker
Federal prison is getting another enophile.
The owner of Safe Harbour Wine Storage in the Baltimore suburb of Glen Burnie pled guilty in federal court on Tuesday to selling his customers' wine and pocketing the money, and is expected to serve 18 months in federal prison.
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William "Billy" Holder, 54, was originally charged with five counts of wire fraud and five counts of interstate transportation of stolen goods. He reached a plea agreement for one wire fraud count, admitting that he faxed a purchase agreement in June 2017 to sell 216 bottles of wine to a broker in Napa for $11,800.
This was a fraction of the amount of wine Holder admitted stealing. The indictment claimed Holder stole $2.3 million worth of wine; in the plea agreement, that figure is crossed out and Holder agreed that "Safe Harbour customers lost between $550,000 and $1.5 million worth of wine". The numbers are written in pen on a typewritten agreement. Holder has agreed to pay restitution of that amount.
A Washington DC man, Todd Laubach, wrote on the Internet bulletin board Wine Berserkers that he lost 759 bottles of wine.
"He completely wiped us out," Laubach wrote. "He replaced some of the cases with cheap bottles of wine. My brother and I foolishly did not have insurance so a total loss. This is what Bill stole from us. We have been on the Rhys list since the beginning. He wiped us out of all of our Rhys from 2006 – 2013, All Bordeaux from 2003-2005, a lot of Pegau and Clos Des Papes, Barolo, Karl Lawrence, Outpost. Unfortunately, we have young families and are not in the position to replace the wine. We are officially out of the wine collecting business."
Holder's scheme does not seem particularly sophisticated, unlike the futures Ponzi scheme that landed John Fox, former owner of Premier Cru wine shop in Berkeley, in federal prison until April, 2021. According to the indictment, Holder simply sold wine that customers had stored with him.
"Holder represented to potential third-party buyers that he was the lawful owner of the wine that he was offering to sell," reads a press release from the Maryland US Attorney's Office. "By e-mail and facsimile, he sent them lists of bottles of wine stored in his warehouse with detailed descriptions of the winery, vintage, and asking price. After the buyers selected the bottles they wanted to purchase, Holder boxed and shipped the wine, and sent his bank account information. After inspecting the shipment of wine, the buyers would either wire the money directly into Holder’s bank account or send a check. Holder kept the proceeds from the sales and spent it on personal expenses."
The wine broker in Napa bought four batches of wine for about $90,000, according to the indictment, while a wine retailer in Washington DC bought 92 bottles for $15,000. Because the numbers don't add up, it's possible that the FBI is still investigating the case. The US Attorney's Office would not comment on the case.
Laubach also wrote on Wine Berserkers: "The maddening thing is that there is a very prominent store in DC that admitted to me and my brother that he had bought our wines from Mr Holder. His resolution was to sell them back to us at his cost. While I understand the owners position, he admitted he was in possession of wine he knew was stolen. The admirable thing to have done would have been to give them back to us."
The location of the store is interesting. The cynically named Safe Harbour – now closed – was in Glen Burnie on the south side of Baltimore, about a 45-minute drive from Monkton, Maryland, home of Robert Parker. There aren't many wine storage facilities in the Baltimore area, but it is not known if Parker stores any wine off-site.
The plea agreement is not set in stone, as it can be accepted or rejected by presiding US District Judge Catherine C. Blake. She has scheduled sentencing for July 31; Holder is expected to remain out of custody until then.
We have a refrigerator n our house.
That is the best possible outcome for him.
And you are right that it would be best for him if he came forward on his own. If the thief kept records of his sale the police are going to come looking for him.
He should lawyer up.
I have never heard of an insurance company covering losses due to buying stole property.
If I understand your meaning, someone cut up a painting and sold the individual pieces.
Why would anyone buy a piece of vandalized art?
“I have never heard of an insurance company covering losses due to buying stole property.”
Agree, that was just a guess, on the grounds that he may have bought the wine in good faith. More likely, the ins co tells him “tough luck”.
That was in a plot of Law & Order Criminal Intent I think.
Let the buyer beware.
Always good advice.
Bill Koch maybe ?
When Pollock was starting to paint what I guess is his Abstract art out in a place on Long Island he didn’t have much money, but did have a rich woman paying his bills while he painted.
Anyway when he ran low on food and beer and had no money he would go to the village store where he shopped and would trade some of his pictures for supplies. I have often wondered how much those people ended up selling their painting for after Pollock died in the car accident and all of a sudden his stuff was worth big bucks.
Could be, they probably get ideas from real crimes. I have never seen that show tho.
Natty Bo-jeaulais?
Personally I think most of Pollock’s art is crap.
A few of his impressionistic paintings are interesting.
Unfortunately, we have young families and are not in the position to replace the wine. We are officially out of the wine collecting business."
I enjoy wine, and I like to visit wineries whenever I'm traveling. As a gift, my wife bought me a 40+ bottle wine refrigerator during our kitchen remodel.
Having said that, I could never see myself collecting wine to the point where I'd have 100 bottles, let alone 750. A wine collecting "business" should only be tried with money you can afford to lose.
I learned my lesson about making money in collectibles a long time ago, when my mom tossed out my baseball cards. FWIW, I had complete Topps sets from 64-68.
I understand that back in the Middle Ages, people stored their gold with goldsmiths, as they had secure storage. They got a receipt in return. Soon, the receipts themselves were used as “money”.
Some goldsmiths realized that many patrons never redeemed their gold, so began issuing extra “receipts” and pocketed the difference. Those who were discovered were executed, but later on, someone in the government said, “Now THERE’s an idea!” and the rest is history.
Holder simply sold wine that customers had stored with him.
Sounds like your average everyday Banker.
Buncha winers.
See, I'm no dummy. I'm going to make sure all my expensive stuff is stored securely. However, I really have to get over there someday to check it out. Will be nice to see my collection once again.
"Well, nutria is a kind of grape."
"No, it's a kind of rat."
He replaced some of the cases with cheap bottles of wine.
"Well, nutria is a kind of grape."
"No, it's a kind of rat."
"It's a rat wine."
"And a poorly made one, even by rat wine standards."
I was thinking along those lines too.
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