"I thought I was in control I lost sight of my values. I ignored responsibilities. I allowed my ego and drinking to dictate my priorities. In that blind pursuit, I destroyed not just my own future but caused real harm to people who trusted me."
"At the time he had his own Napa Valley winery, the Hill Wine Company, but falsely claimed grapes were being grown there when he was really getting them elsewhere for a cheaper price, prosecutors said. The lie allowed him to overcharge for wine and grape juice."
"He will likely have to pay no less than $500,000 in restitution, though the final amount has yet to be determined. Though Hill was indicted in November 2016, the financial crimes occurred three years earlier, as did his separately-prosecuted grand theft of grapes."
Jeffry Hill, a former Napa Valley winemaker, faced serious legal consequences for multiple wine industry crimes spanning several years. In 2015, he served four months in jail for stealing grapes from a competitor. Subsequently, he was charged with a wine and grape juice mislabeling scheme involving approximately $2.5 million in misrepresented products. Hill falsely claimed grapes were grown at his Hill Wine Company when he actually sourced them elsewhere at lower costs, allowing him to overcharge customers. He altered shipping labels, falsified paperwork, and provided false information to growers and truckers to conceal his fraud. After pleading guilty to fraud charges, Hill received probation rather than federal prison time, though he faces restitution payments of at least $500,000. Hill attributes his crimes to alcohol addiction, claiming he achieved sobriety in 2014 and has since engaged in volunteer work and philanthropic efforts to make amends.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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