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Valais wine counterfeiter sentenced to three and a half years in prison

A Valais winemaker accused of fraud was found guilty by the court in Sion on Monday morning. (Archive photo)
A Valais winemaker accused of fraud was found guilty by the court in Sion on Monday morning. (Archive photo)

Keystone

For years, a Valais winemaker sold foreign wine under the name “AOC Valais”. Now a court has sentenced him to three and a half years in prison.

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  • From 2009 to 2016, a Valais winemaker sold foreign, Schaffhausen and quota-free wine under the designation of origin “AOC Valais”.
  • A court in Sion convicted the winemaker of fraud, fraudulent mismanagement, forgery and incitement to forgery.
  • The sentence for the wine counterfeiter: 42 months in prison without conditions.

A Valais winemaker accused of wine adulteration has been sentenced to 42 months in prison without parole. Between 2009 and 2016, he is said to have sold several hundred thousand liters of foreign, Schaffhausen and quota-free wine under the name “AOC Valais”.

The winemaker and wine merchant was convicted by the court in Sion of fraud, dishonest management, forgery and incitement to forgery, as presiding judge Sophie Bartholdi Métrailler explained when announcing the verdict on Monday morning.

This is the highest sentence imposed in a Valais wine-growing case. The public prosecutor and the plaintiff had demanded five years in prison during the trial.

SDA

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