California wine collector, Rudy Kurniawan, 37, will face at least 11 years in prison when he is sentenced on fraud charges Thursday.

Indonesian-born and of Chinese descent, Kurniawan was convicted of mail and wire fraud last December. Apparently, the 37-year-old was into the habit of re-bottling counterfeit wines and selling them as vintage for millions of dollars.

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Defense attorney Jerome H. Mooney has appealed to U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman that the sentence for Kurniawan should be two years and three months - time that his client had already served. Since it was likely his client was going to be deported anyway, the court should just rule the sentence as time served, he said.

Sentencing for fraud can go up to as long as 40 years in prison although 11 years is the minimum, according to federal guidelines.

Prosecutors argue that Kurniawan should get a longer sentence because his lust for money and attention drove him to illegally obtain millions of dollars. They said Kurniawan had flaunted his wealth through a number of extravagant purchases such as a Beverly Hills mansion, designer accessories  and apparel and luxury cars, to name a few.

"Kurniawan is not sorry for what he did, he is sorry that he was caught," they said.

The prosecutors may be right.

Mooney said his client liked attention and the sense of accomplishment and acceptance that it brought. He told of a party Kurniawan hosted for his mother's birthday with Chinese movie star Jackie Chan as the special guest.

"It was the best night of his life," Mooney said, referring to the time Jackie Chan had applauded Kurniawan during the party.

As of mid-July, Kurniawan's victims had reportedly lost up to US$30.5 million, the AFP reported.

Billionaire entrepreneur and wine collector William Koch was one of the victims. He lost around US$2.1 million and is calling for serious punishment to be meted out against the counterfeiter.

TagsWilliam Koch, Fraud, Counterfeit, Jerome Mooney, Richard Berman