A mother from the UK was involved in stealing wine valued at £31,000 from a prestigious restaurant in the US. This woman, Natali Ray, along with an accomplice named Nikola Krndija, executed a planned heist at L’Auberge Provençale in Virginia. While Ray distracted the co-owner, Krndija discreetly pocketed several expensive wine bottles from the cellar, wearing disguises to conceal their identities.
After the theft, Krndija fled to Austria and remains at large, while Ray was apprehended in the restaurant’s parking lot. Ray admitted to grand larceny, possession of burglary tools, and defrauding the restaurant. Initially facing a potential 40-year prison sentence, Ray is now expected to be released in six months, with most of her term suspended. Once freed, she may be deported to the UK or placed on probation in the community for a decade.
During the trial, it came to light that two of the stolen bottles were returned, including a prized pinot noir worth $24,000 (£17,000) and another valued at $7,000 (£5,200). However, the restaurant owners claimed that these wines had depreciated in value due to improper storage while missing. The prosecution labeled the theft as a meticulously planned operation, emphasizing the premeditation involved.
Celeste Borel, the restaurant’s co-owner, expressed disappointment in Ray’s lenient sentence, questioning the efficacy of the judicial system. She vowed to restrict cellar tours to only those she knows well to prevent future incidents.