The books have been closed on a defunct Basalt-based business that went bankrupt more than eight years ago in the wake of a wine-selling scam that cheated investors out of millions of dollars.
Court records show the Chapter 7 bankruptcy of Rare LLC was discharged April 27, and nearly $20 million in creditors’ claims won’t be satisfied. Nineteen creditors have addresses listed in the Aspen-Snowmass and Basalt areas.
Only the administrative costs associated with the bankruptcy — totaling $35,593 — were paid out, bankruptcy records show.
Rare LLC was the brainchild of Basalt resident Ronald Wallace. As a mail-order wine business, the company specialized in selling futures from coveted regions such as Bordeaux. From 1999 to 2003, U.S. prosecutors said, Wallace took money from customers for wine futures he mostly failed to deliver. Instead, he used the money to buy a BMW, remodel his home, join the Roaring Fork Club and jet around the world, prosecutors said.
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