Newport Beach Man Accused Of Stealing $3M In Wine From Clients' Cellars
SANTA ANA (AP) — The operator of an Orange County business where the public can store its wine bottles has been charged with stealing nearly $3 million in vintage wines from his clients' chilled storage lockers.
An district attorney's statement says 64-year-old George Osumi of Newport Beach has been charged with several felonies including burglary and grand theft and faces more than 16 years in prison if convicted. He's scheduled to be arraigned Friday.
Osumi operates Legend Cellars in Irvine. Prosecutors say between January 2008 and June 2012 he entered the private storage lockers of three different owners, taking bottles of wine totaling $2.7 million in value and replacing them with cheaper ones.
Prosecutors say Osumi had an unwitting friend sell some of the wine at auction and sold some of it himself.
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