Jan. 18 (UPI) — A former assistant to the co-president of Goldman Sachs was indicted in federal court Wednesday for allegedly stealing $1.2 million in wine from his ex-employer.
Nicolas De-Meyer, who worked for David Solomon between 2008 and 2016, is accused of swiping “some of the world’s finest wines from his boss,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement.
Federal prosecutors said the theft began around 2014 and lasted until 2016. Bloomberg reported that Solomon fired De-Meyer in 2016 after he noticed some of his possessions were missing.
But During his final two years in Solomon’s employ, De-Meyer allegedly took the wine and used the alias of “Mark Miller” to sell the bottles to a North Carolina-based wine dealer.
“Among the wine De-Meyer stole were bottles of wine from the French estate Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, whose wines are widely considered among the best, most expensive, and rarest wines in the world,” federal prosecutors said. “For example, in October 2016, De-Meyer stole from [Solomon] seven bottles of DRC wine that the victim had previously purchased for $133,650.”
“Rare wines have a very specific market, but even given the narrow chance of making money illegally, thieves will find a way to break the law,” FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said.
De-Meyer was arrested Tuesday in Los Angeles and a federal judge ordered he be moved to New York to face charges.
