Napa wine mogul’s response to his bust in $2.5M grape scam

A Napa Valley winemaker has spoken out after being busted for a massive fraud scheme that involved the sale of $2.5 million in falsely-marketed wine.

Jeffry Hill, who owned Hill Wine Company, pleaded guilty last January after he was caught misrepresenting his wine, The Mercury News reported.

Prosecutors say he was involved in a yearslong operation where he sourced wine and grapes from cheaper producers, then falsely claimed they were products of his own vineyard.

This deception allowed him to charge premium prices for his bottles, despite the worse quality.

In a court letter last week, Hill, 67, took full responsibility for his actions, blaming his years of alcohol abuse for clouding his judgment.

He said: “I thought I was in control.

“I lost sight of my values,” he continued, adding that his drinking and ego led him to ignore his responsibilities.

He later expressed regret in a letter to the court: “In that blind pursuit, I destroyed not just my future but harmed those who trusted me.”

The crime dates back to 2013, when Hill was sourcing grapes from other vineyards and falsely claiming they came from his Napa estate.

He altered shipping labels, falsified documents and instructed growers to lie about selling him the fruit, the court heard.

Prosecutors say Hill’s operation cost consumers millions of dollars in fraudulent wine sales, with some bottles marked as luxury Napa Valley products when they were anything but.

This wasn’t Hill’s first brush with the law.

In 2015, he spent four months in jail for stealing grapes from a competitor. That incident set the stage for the wine mislabeling case that would later land him in trouble.

Despite the gravity of the charges, Hill avoided prison time. His fraud charges carried a potential 20-year sentence, but in January, he was sentenced to three years of probation.

While he may be spared jail, Hill is still facing significant financial repercussions. He will likely owe at least $500,000 in restitution to victims of his scam, though the final amount has not yet been determined.

Since getting sober in 2014, Hill has worked to repair his image. He’s volunteered with various philanthropic efforts, including building playgrounds and assisting refugees.

Hill noted, “ego and drinking” led him to his sentencing.

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