US: Feds continue search for indicted Napa wine exec

(NVR) - The whereabouts of a former Napa wine executive suspected of stealing $900,000 from a wine fulfillment company remain unknown, almost a month after he failed to show up for his first federal court appearance.

Martin “Chris” Edwards, a two-time Napa City Council candidate and longtime community fundraiser, is suspected of stealing $900,000 from The Wine Tasting Network, according to an eight-page federal indictment. He’s been charged with 23 counts of mail fraud and money laundering, according to court records.

On June 17, a federal judge issued a no-bail warrant for his arrest when he failed to show up in court in San Francisco for his first appearance. He is a fugitive, representatives from the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.

The FBI will not comment about rumors that Edwards may be in Mexico. “We won’t respond to anything of that nature,” FBI special agent Brian Weber said Tuesday. “All we can do is confirm there is an active investigation to find the fugitive.”

Edwards, The Wine Tasting Network’s former general manager, allegedly created fraudulent invoices and siphoned about $900,000 between May 2010 and October 2012 to a fictitious company he had created, Dufrane Compliance Trust, federal officials said. Edwards was indicted after a two-month investigation, according to federal officials.