Scam leaves €19,000 of wines unpaid in Beaujolais

Fleurie winegrower was contacted by email by a man posing as the buyer of a genuine wine industry company. Trusting his credentials, he agreed to sell his wine with payment due within 60 days, with no deposit. A foreign carrier came to collect the goods, the wine disappeared out of sight and the bill was never paid. When he realised it was a scam, the grower went to file a complaint on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, at the police station in Beaujeu (69), which then informed the local daily newspaper, ‘Le Progrès’, so that the information would be widely disseminated and other winegrowers would not be taken in.

“They can borrow the name of any well-known company or person, use a corporate registration number and send you a rough document proving it, such as a certificate of incorporation”, warned one of the gendarmes in charge of the investigation, who told winegrowers to be extremely wary. He recommended insisting on an appointment in person before shipping any wines.

A very similar case occurred a few months ago, but this time in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The same modus operandi was used, but using other aliases. The Côtes-du-Rhône producers’ organisation sent out a warning to its members at the end of October 2019. The same people could be behind both scams, but as the Beaujolais investigation has only just got underway, it is too early to say for sure.