How a Fake Bottle of Wine Sparked a $35 Million Fight for Justice
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 15 October 2025
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, it began with a few rare bottles and a collector who thought he’d found perfection. But what looked like the discovery of a lifetime turned out to be one of the most elaborate wine scams in modern history. Billionaire Bill Koch, known for his meticulous taste and love of authenticity, discovered that his prized collection included counterfeits, some forged so well that even experts were fooled. Rather than quietly move on, he poured millions into uncovering the truth. The investigation led to Rudy Kurniawan, a charismatic con artist whose deception stunned the wine world and exposed the lengths people will go to chase prestige. Here's Bill with the story.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:14.1 | This is Lee Habib, and this is our American stories. |
| 0:18.4 | This next story, well, it's our Rule of Law series, where we tell stories |
| 0:22.9 | about what happens when the rule of law is present or absent in our lives. And Alex today |
| 0:29.0 | brings us an unusual story from a guy named Bill Koch, an entrepreneur with 1,300 employees. |
| 0:36.3 | Here's Bill. You know, what I really like, if you look at a great painting, |
| 0:41.3 | you can tell the love the artist did in creating it. |
| 0:45.3 | And to me, that's precious. |
| 0:47.3 | And that's what creates, in my opinion, great art. |
| 0:51.3 | You know, is the love for what the artist was doing. |
| 0:54.8 | And then food, too, you know, with an outstanding chef. |
| 0:59.5 | You could taste that. |
| 1:00.7 | Oh, my God, this tastes differently. |
| 1:02.6 | Because he put a lot of love into it, |
| 1:04.4 | which means he put a lot of energy and thought and everything else into it. |
| 1:08.5 | And the same with a bricklayer. |
| 1:12.6 | You know, he really loves his work. He takes a little extra care in doing it |
| 1:15.6 | other than slapping it together. |
| 1:17.6 | And the same thing with wine. |
| 1:19.6 | The great wine she could really taste the love |
| 1:22.6 | that the vintner had in making it. |
| 1:24.6 | And so that to me is highly offensive when someone is faking it. |
... |
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