World's best chef had been a victim of $1m scam

21:51 - 08 February 2016

Benoit Violier

The news reports confirmed that the father-of-one had fallen for a scheme in which rare wines priced from £14,000 up to £27,500 were sold to restaurants, but were never delivered.

Following news reports that revealed that the man dubbed the worlds best chef had committed suicide, it has now been discovered that he had recently been a victim of a $1m scam.

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Police reports reveal that Benoit Violier's corpse had been found with self-inflicted gunshot wounds and a rifle by his side.

It had also been revealed that the chef, was renown for running the prestigious de l'Hotel de Ville Restaurant and had risen to fame after his restaurant was named "the world's best" by France's La Liste ranking.

Swiss financial magazine, Bilan, revealed that the restaurant had suffered losses due to the scam of between £554,700 and £1.37 million.