Kevin Garnett was not only one of the best players of his era but as an enigmatic personality, the often fiery Garnett was also a walking endorsement deal.
Garnett made plenty of money in the NBA, but he is regarded as one of the more wealthy players in NBA history due to a myriad of off-the-court opportunities as well. KG has always been savvy when it comes to his finances but now, he finds himself wading in some unfamiliar waters. According to AP, Garnett is suing his accountant for a whopping $77 million. Garnett claims his accountant quietly assisted a wealth manager steal that amount of money through fraud.
Kevin Garnett is suing an accountant and his firm, alleging they helped a wealth manager steal $77 million from the retired Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics star.
The federal malpractice lawsuit alleges Kentucky-based accountant Michael Wertheim and Welenken CPAs enabled Charles Banks IV of Atlanta to defraud Garnett through businesses in which Garnett and Banks shared an interest.
The lawsuit contends Wertheim “possessed actual knowledge that Banks was helping himself to millions of dollars of Garnett’s money and did nothing about it.”
Obviously a strange story, it doesn’t make much sense for an accountant to not take care of his/her client, especially when dealing with someone as high-profile as Kevin Garnett.
The lawsuit states that the wealth manager had been looting Garnett of his earnings for some years now.
“Banks intentionally … looted Garnett of his earnings and assets for many years, including the many years that Welenken and Wertheim provided accounting services to Garnett and his business interests,” according to the lawsuit, which was initially filed in Hennepin County District Court and moved Wednesday to U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.
Defense attorney Greg Simpson told the Star Tribune his clients deny the allegations and will “vigorously” fight the suit.
The wealth manager, Charles Banks IV, was also sentenced to four years in prison just last year for defrauding another NBA star, San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan. It remains to be seen whether he will face anymore penalty from Garnett and his legal team once the matter has been taken to court.
