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Former Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett has filed a lawsuit against an accountant and his firm for allegedly helping a wealth manager steal some $77 million from him.
Per The Associated Press via ESPN, the federal malpractice lawsuit alleges Kentucky-based accountant Michael Wertheim and Welenken CPAs allowed Charles Banks IV of Atlanta to defraud Garnett through several businesses the Garnett and Banks had a shared interest in.
According to the lawsuit, Wertheim:
“possessed actual knowledge that Banks was helping himself to millions of dollars of Garnett's money and did nothing about it.”
“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…”
Further, the lawsuit added that Wertheim:
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“took direction from Banks and for some reason chose to have virtually no contact with Garnett.”
Banks, who was not named as a defendant, was actually sentenced to four years in federal prison last year for defrauding retired NBA star Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs.
The suit also revealed that Wertheim and Banks worked together to set a budget and an allowance for Garnett during his NBA stint. Mark Gaughan, Garnett's lawyer, was sought for comment and expressed his confidence that his team will win the case:
“based upon the facts, we are confident this matter ultimately will be resolved in Mr. Garnett's favor.”
