Caption: The exterior of the Premier Cru wine shop is seen in Berkeley, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 30, 2015. (Kristopher Skinner/Bay Area News Group)

BERKELEY -- The FBI has confirmed it is investigating claims of a Ponzi scheme involving Berkeley-based fine wine purveyor Premier Cru, and the owner of the disgraced company has also filed for personal bankruptcy.

Owner John Fox, who already sold his home to pay off the bank that held its mortgage, filed for bankruptcy Monday claiming he had between zero and $50,000 in assets, while owing $50 million to $100 million. The wine entrepreneur, who former customers say was known to drive expensive cars, is renting a 1,500-square-foot Concord tract home near the city's BART station for a listed price of $2,700 a month, according to his court petition. He has two weeks to provide the court an itemized list of his debts and assets.

Fox's fall from grace follows the bankruptcy of Premier Cru last month, which listed $70 million in debts, owed largely to more than 9,000 customers, and only $7 million in assets. More than one dozen disgruntled customers have sued the company for millions of dollars claiming it was a wine pyramid scheme.

The FBI is now asking customers with complaints about the company to email the agency at premiercru.complaints@ic.fbi.gov.

"Due to the wide scope and high number of complaints from people who claim to have been impacted by Premier Cru's bankruptcy, the FBI has established an email address for individuals to notify us with complaints, concerns and tips," FBI spokeswoman Michele Ernst said.


No one answered the door at Fox's home Wednesday, and he did not return an email seeking comment. His personal bankruptcy attorney Sarah Little said she had no comment at this time.

On Monday, a federal judge allowed the bankruptcy trustee to hire a former Premier Cru information technology employee to help wade through the company's complex accounting system. The trustee's attorney, Mark Bostick, said he expected a full inventory of the remaining 35,000 wines to be finished by the end of this week.

The trustee has found about 120 customers with wine "physically segregated" in the warehouse, and about $200,000 in wine not claimed by any customer, Bostick said. The court is still working out how to address ownership claims.

The largest creditor ultimately may become American Express, Bostick said, because it has been issuing refunds to customers who said they bought wine futures from Premier Cru with their credit cards but never received any product. Premier Cru specialized in wine futures, wine bought before they are bottled, usually at more affordable prices.

The largest single individual customer is owed more than $800,000 in wine, Bostick said at the hearing.

Monday's hearing was briefly interrupted by a man attempting to serve Fox court papers for an undisclosed case, but the judge told him the Premier Cru owner was not at the hearing. Since its bankruptcy, additional plaintiffs have sued Premier Cru, including at least one credit card company.

Contact Matthias Gafni at 925-952-5026. Follow him at Twitter.com/mgafni.