Dilip Kuner
A FRENCH winemaker has been jailed for selling fake champagne, which was in fact cheap Spanish plonk with fizz added.
Didier Chopin, 56, spent 2022 and 2023 churning out hundreds of thousands of bottles of knock-off Champagne, using a mix of Spanish and Ardeche wine, fizzy carbon dioxide and flavourings.
He even slapped his own name on it – Champagne Didier Chopin – and got it onto supermarket shelves, including French giant Leclerc.
But the Champagne cops weren’t fooled. On September 2, the Reims Criminal Court sentenced Chopin to four years – though he’ll serve just 18 months – and slapped him with a €100,000 fine, along with millions in damages to angry buyers and the official Champagne body, Comite Champagne.
His wife wasn’t off the hook either – she was given a two-year suspended sentence, €100,000 in fines, and a five-year ban on working in the Champagne biz. The couple’s holding company, SAS Chopin, also got hit for €300,000.
READ MORE:
- Fruit mafia in Spain sold fake organic produce across Europe for at least six months
- Mallorca eco-retreat busted for selling fake ‘extra virgin’ olive oil
- Breeders accused of toy poodle scam by charging over €6,000 for a puppy with fake pedigree documents in Spain
Chopin had initially denied everything, but the court didn’t buy his story. He was found guilty of fraud, misrepresenting the origin of his wine, and nicking company assets.
Estimates of his fake fizz output range in the hundreds of thousands to more than 1.5 million bottles. After being rumbled by ex-employees in 2023, Chopin made a run for it to Morocco, only to be nabbed over dodgy cheques and sent back to France.
And his legal troubles aren’t over: he’s facing more charges for customs shenanigans linked to exporting his phoney pop.
Click here to read more Crime & Law News from The Olive Press.
