Wine bottles on the shelf at Premier Cru

Premier Cru Owner John Fox Sentenced in Ponzi Scheme

A California federal judge sentenced the owner of a bankrupt wine store to 6 ½ years in prison for operating a Ponzi-like scheme in which he pretended to sell wine in advance of its arrival from Europe. The owner was keeping the money instead.

The owner of the store, John Fox, pled guilty to allegations that he sold wine through his company, Premier Cru, but failed to purchase the wine and instead spent the money on cars, golf club memberships, and more.

Between 2010 and 2015, Premier Cru owner John Fox sold or attempted to sell nearly $20 million in wine that he never actually purchased before adding the items to his inventory. Fox would often falsify purchase orders, then use those orders to sell to customers, promising that they would receive their wine between 6 months and 2 years from the purchase date.

Premier Cru owner John Fox was accused of embezzling directly from his business by charging the company’s accounts to pay for personal expenses and making transfers to other personal accounts, sometimes using fake names to do so.

When Premier Cru owner John Fox did contract to buy European wine, he promised to pay suppliers within 30 days but admitted it was a lie, since he spent money from new customers on himself and to pay previous customers for wine that never got delivered.

Premier Cru owner John Fox filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in January. At the time of the filing, customers had paid about $45 million for wine that hadn’t been delivered.

Call a Los Angeles Ponzi Scheme Attorney Today

If you are a victim of Premier Cru owner John Fox or have lost money through a similar Ponzi Scheme, contact an experienced Los Angeles securities attorney today for a consultation to discuss your rights and options.