Edited by: TJVNews.com

In a surprising turn of events, the FBI executed coordinated raids at two locations in New York this week, targeting the iconic wine shop, Sherry-Lehmann. The New York Post reported that the operation involved the shuttered shop on the Upper East Side and an office complex, Blue Hill Plaza, in Pearl River, NY, owned by Hong Kong-based Glorious Sun Group. The investigation centers around the disappearance of clients’ prized wine collections, raising questions about the shop’s financial woes and dubious wine storage practices, according to the report.

As FBI agents combed through Sherry-Lehmann’s Upper East Side location, another team descended upon Blue Hill Plaza, suspecting the presence of a massive stash of fine wines, the Post report said. Blue Hill Plaza houses computer servers and reportedly an underground, air-conditioned room that may have been used to store the missing wines, as was reported by the Post. The FBI has remained tight-lipped about the exact nature of their investigation.

In a curious twist, the US Postal Inspection Service claimed to be co-leading the investigation with the FBI and NYPD, a development that points towards a potential mail fraud angle, according to the Post report. The involvement of these agencies has cast a shadow of suspicion over the embattled vintner, Sherry-Lehmann, and its co-owners, Shyda Gilmer and Kris Green.

The Post also reported that News 12 Hudson Valley, a local TV station operated by Altice, reported the FBI raid in New York’s Rockland County, including a confirmation from the agency that it had been at Blue Hill Plaza.

The mystery deepens as the Wine Caves storage service, registered under Sherry-Lehmann’s name, moved from its warehouse in Queens, leaving behind unsettled rent issues. The Post report indicated that Gilmer and Green failed to register a new storage facility, rendering their wine storage operations illegal. There have been reports of high-profile clients like Mercedes Bass experiencing unauthorized removal of their wine collections from Wine Caves.

Glorious Sun Group, the Hong Kong real estate company that owns Blue Hill Plaza and Sherry-Lehmann’s Park Avenue location, served the wine shop with an eviction notice due to rent arrears amounting to $3.6 million, as was reported by the Post.  The financial troubles faced by Sherry-Lehmann have added complexity to the ongoing investigation.

The once-prestigious retailer faces lawsuits from customers and vendors, claiming debts totaling over $1 million for undelivered wine futures. Moreover, the Post report said that the Manhattan shop owes nearly $2.8 million in unpaid sales tax to the state of New York and that co-owner Shyda Gilmer bears personal liability for the outstanding sales tax.

Shyda Gilmer, who joined Sherry-Lehmann in 1996, and Kris Green, a former hedge fund executive who invested in the business in 2013, appear to be prime targets of the FBI investigation, as was reported by the Post. Former Sherry-Lehmann employees, who have been questioned by law enforcement, have suggested that both co-owners may be linked to the missing wines. However, both Gilmer and Green have declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, the Post report said.

As the FBI intensifies its investigation into the disappearance of clients’ prized wines, the future of the iconic wine shop, Sherry-Lehmann, hangs in the balance. The coordinated raids at the Upper East Side shop and Blue Hill Plaza have shed light on the shop’s financial troubles, questionable wine storage practices, and potential legal issues. The outcome of the investigation remains uncertain, but the incident has undoubtedly left a mark on the once-revered vintner’s reputation.