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VIP Wine Executive News Member Briefing
The premium, VIP service of Wine Industry Insight
From editor & publisher, Lewis Perdue
December 18, 2018
The founder of a new Sonoma County Direct-to-Trade business has been convicted of 25 federal felonies, has a highly sanitized LinkedIn profile, and has been involved in a highly irregular — and possibly illegal — wine production and sales operation.

Recently honored by the North Bay Business Journal as one of “Forty Under 40 Ones to Watch,” Petaluma resident Jacob Moynihan, founder of the Direct-To-Trade wine company Merchant 23, was a key player in a Multi-Million-Dollar Mortgage Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme that included leaders and members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, and a San Francisco CPA-Tax preparer.
Moynihan comments
A courtesy draft of this article was sent to Mr. Moynihan and asked him for any corrections, comments or other information he felt was appropriate. We will include any subsequent, verifiable information if and when received.
The following is his response:

The remainder of this article, along with court filings is available to Wine Executive News Premium Subscribers.
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The following sections are available to premium subscribers
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Fraudulent loans more than $10 Million – FBI
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Moynihan’s plea deal + Probation
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Court-ordered restitution would take 1,320 years
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Sanitized LinkedIn profile hides history – “Integrity-driven?”
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Annotated LinkedIn profile graphic fills in blanks
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Potentially illegal Keiser wine showed up for sale on Wine.Com, Vivino and reviews on Cellar Tracker in 2017
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Moynihan’s wine existed – But the existence of licenses from state and federal governments are equivocal or missing
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Legality of Merchant23’s business model implementation up in the air – Calif ABC
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How the Moynihan/Keiser wine production system worked
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Angelini Trading pulled into Moynihan’s orbit
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Scotto Cellars and Eagle Rock Investments/Vineyards step up as reliable partners
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Keiser Wine COLAs Unobtainable via standard TTB searches
Court documents available for Wine Executive News premium subscribers
- Moynihan Indictment
- Moynihan conviction/judgment
- Moynihan arraignment
- Moynihan arrest warrant
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Lewis Perdue
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Phone: 707-326-4503, fax: 707-940-4146
Email: lewis.perdue@wineindustryinsight.com
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