Lifestyle

The $9.5 Million Hangover

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Almost exactly four years ago, New York’s James D. Walsh was deep into reporting a jammy feature. It was about an alleged scam in the world of extremely fine wine, and his notebook was full of dishy details — like oenophiles dropping $25,000 to attend a single Burgundy-soaked dinner and only belatedly realizing that they’d been separated from millions of dollars. So what happened to the story? COVID hit. Not the best time to publish grand cru Schadenfreude! James put his reporting on a shelf. Then, just a few weeks ago, he was startled to receive a tip. The perpetrator of the alleged scam, who’d fled the country, was set to be arrested at JFK and charged with defrauding his clients of $9.5 million. With his notes brought back to life, James got typing. Enjoy it tonight with a generous pour of whatever’s open.

—Nick Summers, features editor, New York

The $9.5 Million Hangover Did a wine-world insider swindle his Bordeaux-swilling pals?

Photo-Illustration: New York Magazine; Photos: @okbizwine/Instagram; Getty Images
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