UMVA has learned that a British woman, Natali Ray, 57, was involved in a daring heist at a high-end restaurant in Virginia, US, where she and her accomplice stole £30,000 worth of wine.
The audacious crime was carried out with precision, as Ray and her partner, Nikola Krndija, also 57, donned disguises and posed as representatives of a wealthy Canadian businesswoman looking to book a dinner for 25 people.
Ray, a former guest house owner, and Krndija took great lengths to conceal their identities, parking their car far from the restaurant, wearing wigs, and introducing themselves under fake names, with Ray going by the pseudonym Stephanie Baker.
Once inside, Ray requested a tour of the wine cellar, telling the sommelier that her 'boss' was 'very particular' about storage, providing the perfect opportunity for Krndija to allegedly swipe eight bottles of wine and swap them out for cheaper ones.
Krndija made a swift exit, fleeing the scene and boarding a flight to Austria, leaving Ray to be apprehended in the car park, and later pleading guilty to grand larceny, possession of burglary tools, and defrauding a restaurant or inn.
Natali Ray had faced up to 40 years behind bars, but in a surprising turn of events, she was handed a one-year sentence, which was deemed to have already been half-served during her six months in custody.
The stolen wine, including a prized pinot noir valued at $24,000 (£17,000), and another worth $7,000 (£5,200), was partially recovered, but the restaurant's owners argued that the wines had lost much of their value due to improper storage.
The restaurant's co-owner, Celeste Borel, expressed dismay at the judicial system's decision, stating, 'It really makes you question the judicial system. Nobody's getting a cellar tour again unless I happen to know them extremely well already.'
Natali Ray's unexpected early release has raised eyebrows, with many questioning the leniency of her sentence, and the case serves as a remarkable example of the lengths people will go to for valuable possessions.
