Hanover Man Sentenced To Prison For Stealing $1.5M Of Wine

HANOVER, MD — After stealing upwards of $1.5 million worth of wine from clients, William Lamont Holder, 54, of Hanover has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake also ordered Holder to pay restitution of $1.5 million.

According to his plea agreement,William Lamont Holder was the sole owner and operator of Safe Harbour Wine Storage, LLC (“Safe Harbour”). Through Safe Harbour, Holder stored and transported upscale wines for private collectors and commercial establishments. In return for a monthly fee, Holder would arrange for the transportation of a customer’s wine to Safe Harbour’s
storage facility in Glen Burnie where it would be inventoried and stored. Holder did not possess a license to sell wine in the State of Maryland.

From January 2013 through December 2017, Holder developed a scheme to obtain payments and wine from the customers of Safe Harbour for his own personal financial gain. His customers did not know that he was offering their wine for sale to wine retailers and brokers around the country,
including in Napa, California, all while continuing to collect the customers’ monthly storage fees and accept additional wine for storage.

Holder represented to potential third-party buyers that he was the lawful owner of the wine that he was offering to sell. He emailed and faxed them lists of bottles of wine stored in his warehouse
with detailed descriptions of the winery, vintage and asking price. After the buyers selected the bottles they wanted to purchase, Holder boxed and shipped the wine, and sent his bank account information. After inspecting the shipment of wine, the buyers would either wire the money directly into Holder’s bank account or send a check. Holder kept the proceeds from the sales and spent it on personal expenses.