Former Napa winemaker Jeffry Hill, 38, now of Clovis, Calif., is under federal indictment for a brazen wine fraud scheme that ripped off customers of more than $1.5 million. A San Francisco grand jury charged Hill with four counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud for allegedly selling cheap, out-of-region wine falsely labeled as premium Napa Valley AVA and cabernet sauvignon products. The indictment, unsealed this morning, exposes a calculated operation to deceive buyers and inflate profits through misrepresentation and forgery.
Hill ran Hill Wine Company (HWC), which operated a winery and tasting room on the Silverado Trail in Napa County and used external facilities in Napa and Sonoma Counties. Federal regulations require that at least 85% of wine labeled with a specific American Viticultural Area (AVA), like Napa Valley, must be made from grapes grown within that region. Napa Valley wine commands top dollar — and Hill allegedly exploited that premium by passing off wine made from non-Napa grapes as authentic AVA product, charging customers far more than the goods were worth.
According to the indictment, Hill bought or grew grapes outside Napa Valley and used them to produce bulk grape juice, bulk wine, and bottled wine, all falsely marketed as Napa-sourced. He also misrepresented other grape varietals as cabernet sauvignon — a high-demand varietal — further deceiving customers. Over time, buyers paid over $1,500,000 for fraudulently labeled wine and wine inputs, believing they were purchasing top-tier, region-specific products.
To conceal his fraud, Hill allegedly forged bills of lading, maintained false inventory records, and lied to employees about the origin of grapes. He moved wine and grapes between HWC’s three facilities to muddy the trail and instructed field workers to mislabel grape origin and varietal at harvest. He even told out-of-AVA grape growers to keep silent about their sales to him, ensuring the deception remained hidden from regulators and buyers.
Hill was arrested today in Clovis, Calif., and appeared in federal court in Fresno, in the Eastern District of California. He was released on conditions and is scheduled for an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler at 9:30 a.m. on November 16, 2016, in San Francisco. The charges stem from violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (mail fraud) and 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (wire fraud), each carrying severe statutory penalties upon conviction.
The investigation was led by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), with support from federal prosecutors. U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch and TTB Assistant Administrator Tom Crone confirmed the charges. As of now, the indictment stands as an allegation — Hill is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But the evidence paints a damning picture of a man who bottled lies and sold them at a premium.
RELATED: TRICARE Scheme Nets 10: $100M Fraud Uncovered
Related Federal Cases
- Tax Fixer Gets 18 Months for $1.2M Fraud Scheme · Alaska
- Cook Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Scheme in Utah · Utah
- David Gomez Guilty in $3M Union Health Care Fraud Scheme · Montana
- Dorothy Matsuba Led $30M Mortgage Relief Fraud Scheme · California
- John Visconti Convicted in $7M Axium Tax Fraud Scheme · California
Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News