The Park Avenue store of troubled wine seller Sherry-Lehmann was raided by the FBI on Tuesday as the enduring 88-year-old vintner’s legal troubles proceed to escalate, The Post has learned.
Federal agents descended on the shop within the morning and an unmarked white van remained parked on the corner of Park and 59th St. into the evening as a part of a multi-law enforcement agency investigation of the business and its owners, sources said.
A Post reporter who tried to enter the shop was told it was closed by an officer wearing an FBI T-shirt. One other officer wore a T-shirt that identified him as an element of the “FBI-NYPD Gang Taskforce.”
Agents were seen carrying out boxes from the premises.
One FBI agent who was contained in the store confirmed to The Post they’d been there for hours but declined to say what they were in search of.
An FBI spokesperson didn’t reply to a request for comment.
The famed retailer was shut down March 10 by the Latest York State Liquor Authority for selling alcohol with out a current license and it has not reopened since.
Owners Shyda Gilmer and Kris Green are allegedly being investigated for selling wine to customers and never delivering it, including several customers who bought greater than $1 million price of futures that were never delivered, as The Post previously reported.
Agents were seen carrying out boxes from Sherry-Lehmann.James Keivom
FBI agents were seen entering and exiting the premises on Tuesday.James Keivom
Former employees, who didn’t wish to be identified, told The Post that they’d been interviewed by FBI agents in recent weeks.
One former worker, who’d been in the shop after it closed, told The Post that the agents were likely taking a look at the pc system and any records that were kept contained in the store.
FBI agents were seen entering and exiting Sherry-Lehmann on Tuesday.James Keivom
Owners Shyda Gilmer, above, and Kris Green are allegedly being investigated for selling wine to customers and never delivering it.Latest York Post
Gilmer and Green didn’t reply to requests for comment.
The pair have also got here under fire for allegedly selling wine that was stored in its Wine Caves warehouse that belonged to customers who pay a monthly fee to store their wine collection, based on reports by The Latest York Times and Wine Spectator.
FBI agents contained in the store on Tuesday.Latest York Post/Lisa Fickenscher
The corporate owes Latest York $2.7 million in unpaid sales tax, as The Post first reported.
Earlier this month, SLA spokesman, William Crowley told The Post, “The SLA has opened an investigation looking into a bunch of potential violations following recent media reports. This investigation is ongoing, and at its conclusion, the SLA will take all appropriate actions. Moreover, the SLA has pending disciplinary charges against Sherry Lehmann for selling with out a license.”
Over July 4 weekend, the corporate’s website went dark and the corporate’s spokesperson, Eric Andrus, recently said he now not represented Sherry-Lehmann.