Fizzled out: French winemaker risks prison over champagne fraud / Photo: FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI - AFP
-
No World Series miracle for weary Rays
-
North Korea fires 'around a dozen' ballistic missiles into East Sea
-
Miami Heat earn first win of NBA season with Antetokounmpo
-
Brewers catcher Contreras named World Series MVP
-
Brewers beat Rays 4-1 to capture first World Series title
-
Asian stock markets fluctuate after mixed tech results
-
Philippine island fights rising seas with nature, not concrete
-
Samsung logs record quarterly profits despite investor AI jitters
-
Bangladesh presses India before Ganges water treaty expires
-
Miami stumble to draw against Cincinnati despite Suarez strike
-
Trump accuses Alaska Democrats of fraud over same-name scandal
-
Bangladesh scrambling as Ganges water treaty to expire
-
Spain mourns after latest train tragedy kills 68
-
England in peril with Rugby League World Cup semi spots at stake
-
Trump's border: quiet, but few people are happy
-
Antonelli ready to rewrite the Formula One record books in Mexico
-
Australian defence chief says China military buildup creating 'pressure' in SE Asia
-
EU, Canada to build 'new chapter' in alliance at Montreal summit
-
Storm Preparedness: The Equipment Worth Investing In
-
No penalty practice? No problem for Man City in shoot-out win
-
Argentine football fan jailed for threats over Di Maria return
-
Microsoft beats expectations fueled by Azure cloud business
-
Liverpool beat Chelsea in League Cup shoot-out, Man City survive scare
-
Chelsea win as Bayern draw with Madrid in Women's Champions League
-
Inter leave it late again in Serie A as AC Milan, Juventus lose
-
Kane watches as Bayern cruise into German Cup last 16
-
Shares in Google owner Alphabet plummet on profit miss, ad slowdown
-
Bayern boss Kompany out of hospital after meningeal irritation
-
Putin hails Elon Musk as 'truly a genius'
-
Shares in Google owner Alphabet sink on profit miss, ad slowdown
-
US stocks eye big tech earnings as Fed holds rates steady
-
Chelsea win as Bayern and Madrid draw in Women's Champions League
-
US Fed holds interest rates steady despite 'too high' inflation
-
Made with munitions from the Falklands War, a 'Chalice of Peace' for the pope
-
Rwanda cannot be blamed for what happens in DR Congo, FM says
-
Pioneering US labor leader Dolores Huerta dies at 96
-
Inter leave it late again in Serie A as Bologna sink AC Milan
-
Italian PM slams 'shameful' release of alleged protest organiser
-
Bolsonaro's escape to the US: How it happened
-
Hollywood producer Kennedy to head LA28 Olympic ceremony plans
-
Russell calls on Scotland to 'kick on' and beat big teams
-
Djokovic wins Basel opener to boost ATP Finals bid
-
Airbus aims for record deliveries despite disappointing quarter
-
US Fed holds interest rates steady despite surging inflation
-
Cuba wins UN vote against US embargo with weakest backing in 30 years
-
Chiefs sign ex-Ravens kicker suspended over sex allegations
-
Real Madrid, La Liga apology over Mbappe shows power of Chinese market
-
Inglis and Carey put Australia in command of South Africa decider
-
From Gaza to Ramallah, Palestinians see little hope in Israeli vote
-
92-year-old US judge handling Maduro case dies
Fizzled out: French winemaker risks prison over champagne fraud
Prosecutors in eastern France on Wednesday requested a winemaker accused of producing and selling fake champagne in an elaborate scam be sentenced to four years in prison, with three years of the term suspended.
Didier Chopin, 56, was also requested to pay a fine of 100,000 euros on charges of fraud and theft of a protected brand name at the trial, which started on Tuesday.
The winemaker from the Aisne region produced and sold hundreds of thousands of fake champagne bottles for a year, between 2022 and 2023. He produced the champagne with wines from Spain and southern France, to which he added aromas and carbonised gas to make them sparkling.
The total value of the fraud was estimated at several millions of euros.
The prosecution at the Reims criminal court also requested that the winemaker's wife incur a suspended prison sentence of two years and a fine of 100,000 euros on the same charges of fraud and theft of a protected brand name.
The prosecution denounced "a cynical and premeditated logic of profit," and requested that the couple be definitively banned from running a business and from exercising any industrial or commercial professions in the champagne sector.
The confiscation of all seized possessions and the destruction of all seized bottles was also requested.
The couple's holding company, SAS Chopin, was requested to pay a 300,000 euro fine on charges of embezzlement and misuse of company assets.
The court is expected to announce its verdict on September 2.
"This is a sad conclusion. I made a mistake, I am ruined and I have nothing else to add," Chopin told reporters.
The winemaker's lawyer, Francis Fossier, had argued for a fully suspended prison sentence. His client had already spent "seven months" in prison in Morocco "in horrible conditions," said Fossier.
After the champagne fraud was revealed by former employees in 2023, Chopin had fled to Morocco and launched a new vegetable farming business there. He was then arrested, convicted and sentenced to prison on accusations linked to uncovered cheques.
The part of the trial relating to customs violations -- concerning the export of the fake champagne outside of France -- has been adjourned to February 3, 2026.
The winemaker also faces another legal procedure after five former employees accused him of sexual assault.
S.Jackson--AT
