Check out this article: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/17/fbi-investigates-possible-wine-ponzi-scheme.html
A wine company in Berkeley, CA got mixed up in trouble. Premier Cru company sold wine to wealthy collectors as well as wrote "wine futures" to customers: allowing buyers to purchase wine that is aging but has not yet been bottled (the buyer is betting that their future contract will be cheaper than the spot price of wine when it goes on sale). This business model allowed Premier Cru to hold onto unusually large amounts of client funds. Additionally, Premier Cru also ran a storage business, and wine buyers would often wait several years before requesting shipment of product.
Premier Cru filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation bankruptcy) in January. They listed $7 million in assets and $70 million in debt. Shortly before this, several customers filed lawsuits against Premier Cru alleging it was a Ponzi scheme. The FBI is now investigating Premier Cru. Coincidentally to my last article on wine fraud, William Koch is a customer of Premier Cru - this billionaire just can't get a break.
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