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Wine auctioneer on embezzlement charges
The founder of online auction site WineGavel has been charged with 12 counts of theft and embezzlement worth over US$500,000.
According to Wine Spectator, Joshua Krummenoehl is accused of convincing wine collectors to give him their fine wine to sell and then pocketing the proceeds.
Krummenoehl was arrested in New York on 8 July and flown back to Napa to be charged. He posted a $50,000 bail on 17 July.
The indictment file from prosecutors states that Krummenoehl allegedly accepted wine to sell on his site between 14 February 2011 and 1 April 2012, took payment for the wines without compensating the consignors while keeping any unsold wines.
Supervising inspector from the Marin County district attorney’s office, Carl Chapman, said that having founded WineGavel, Krummenoehl quickly found he had insufficient operating revenue.
“The evidence shows that when Krummenoehl solicited and accepted the consignments from the victims between February 2011 and March 2012, he had no intention of using the proceeds of the sales for its entrusted purpose,” he said.
Krummenoehl is expected back in court on 28 August. WineGavelis currently inactive Wine Spectator reports.