FBI raids distressed wine distributor Shelly Lehman’s New York store

On Tuesday, troubled wine distributor Shelly Lehman’s Park Avenue store was investigated by the FBI as an iconic wine cellar. 88-year-old vintner in legal troubles The Post has learned that it continues to escalate.

As part of multiple law enforcement investigations into the store and its owner, federal agents rushed to the store in the morning and an unmarked white van remained parked at the corner of the park and 59th Street through the evening. said an official.

A Post reporter who tried to enter the store was told the store was closed by a police officer wearing an FBI T-shirt. Another officer wore a T-shirt identifying himself as a member of the “FBI-NYPD Anti-Gang Division.”

Workers were seen carrying boxes out of the premises.

An FBI agent inside the store confirmed to the Post that he had been there for hours, but declined to say what he was looking for.

An FBI spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

famous retail store closed March 10, by the New York State Liquor Authority It sold alcohol without a current license and has not reopened since.

Owners Shaida Gilmer and Chris Green are reportedly under investigation for selling wine to customers and never handing them over, including buying more than $1 million worth of futures contracts. The Post previously reported that it also included several customers who were not handed over.

The former employees, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Post that they had been interviewed by FBI agents in recent weeks.

One former employee who was in the store after it closed told the Post that employees were likely looking into computer systems and any records kept in the store.

Gilmer and Green did not respond to requests for comment.

The New York Times and Wine Spectator reports also accused the pair of selling wine that had been stored in the wine cave warehouses of customers who pay a monthly fee to store their wine collections. bathed in

The company owes New York City $2.7 million in unpaid sales taxes. The Post first reported.

Earlier this month, SLA spokesman William Crowley told the Post, “Following recent media reports, the SLA has launched an investigation into a number of potential breaches. The investigation is ongoing and Once the results are available, SLA will take all appropriate action, and SLA has pending disciplinary action against Shelly Lehman on charges of unauthorized sales.”

Over the weekend of July 4, the company’s website went dark, and company spokesman Eric Andrus recently said he was no longer representing Shelly Lehman.