Kurniawan sentencing: victims' details required!

The long wait for sentencing of Rudy Kurniawan goes on, because it seems those duped by the convicted wine counterfeiter are reluctant to come forward with details of his scams.

Sentencing has already been delayed once to finalise details of Kurniawan's assets that are subject to forfeiture, but failed to take place on May 29 as expected and has now been deferred to July 17.

The Indonesian national was convicted in December of knowingly trading in counterfeit vintage wines duping collectors to the tune of around $20m, although the defence claims the figure is closer to $7m.

While high-profile figures including billionaire William Koch have provide details of Kurniawan's counterfeiting exploits, other victims who may be entitled to compensation have been more reluctant to come forward.

The prosecution wants to award damages of $20m - along with a jail term of 14 years - but the judge in the case wants a clearer picture of the people defrauded by Kurniawan, and the mounts involved, before sentencing.

It also claims Kurniawan intended to sell around $35m-worth of counterfeits, a level that would attract a higher level of sentencing of up to 20 years in jail.

In a letter to Judge Richard Berman, Koch has accused some fellow collectors duped by Kurniawan of refusing to assist in uncovering the fraud "because they are either embarrassed or because they simply want to get their money back."

Kurniawan himself has also written to Judge Berman to acknowledge that his actions were wrong "not only legally, but also morally and socially."