Ringleader of winery scam gets year in jail

The last of three men involved in an online scam selling high-end wine stolen from a Jess Jackson-owned company was sentenced to a year in jail, his attorney said Monday.

Jordan Patrick Crass, identified as the ringleader of the group, admitted that as a customer service representative of Jackson Family Wines he stole at least $100,000 in wine, altered the company's computer records to cover up his actions and then advertised the wine on Craigslist.

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Rene Chouteau sentenced the 30-year-old Santa Rosa man to a year in jail on one count of grand theft and four counts of burglary. Crass may be able to serve part of the sentence on home detention and in a work-furlough program, said his attorney, Walter Risse.

Crass's associates, Jarrett Berg, 29, of Santa Rosa and Kevin M. Hall, 30, of Napa, each agreed to admit one misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property. Hall was sentenced to five months in jail and Berg three months.

Both were placed on two years' probation.

Crass worked at the winery's Windsor distribution center and according to investigators set up fake shipments of wine, which he labeled "lost" so they wouldn't be tracked to a specific customer. He and Berg then sold the wine to retailers that had online sales sites, and Hall and Berg delivered the wine, according to court records.

Company officials became suspicious in April when an executive spotted some of the high-end 2004 Verite wines for sale online. Those wines, 2004 vintages of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc blends, hadn't been released to the public.

Investigators said the trio sold nearly 1,000 bottles costing as much as $175 each, totaling almost $200,000 worth of wine.

A hearing has been set for Feb. 25 to determine how much restitution the men will have to pay.

Risse said he will argue the amount should be substantially less than $200,000 because he said it can't be proven that the men were responsible for all of the taken wine.

He labeled Kendall Jackson's inventory and security systems "terrible," and said "a lot of people could have been walking away with wine."

Kendall Jackson did not return a call for comment on Monday.

You can reach Staff Writer Derek J. Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@

pressdemocrat.com.