Ex-NBA Star Kevin Garnett Drops $77 Million Lawsuit With Former Accountant
By Ryan Naumann on July 8, 2019 at 10:49 AM EDT
Former NBA star Kevin Garnett has dismissed his $77 million lawsuit against his ex-accountants in which he accused them of screwing him over.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Garnett and the accounting firm Welenken CPAs have reached a deal that will end the lawsuit. According to their deal, all claims against the other will be dismissed and the case will be officially closed.
Last year, Garnett sued his Kentucky-based accounting firm, Welenken CPAs, and its partner, Michael A. Wertheim. Garnett accused the firm of participating in a scheme in which they helped a third-party money manager steal $77 million from the NBA star over the years.
The suit claimed that the accountant helped a man named Charles Banks IV in defrauding millions from Garnett. The scheme involved using businesses that both Banks and Garnett had an interest in. Banks was sentenced last year to four years in prison over allegations he defrauded fellow NBA star Tim Duncan out of millions.
Garnett accused his accountant of knowing that millions were being stolen but did nothing about it.
The accounting firm and Wertheim came back and demanded Garnett’s case be dismissed.
They stated, “With prospects of recovery against Banks appearing dim, Garnett has turned his sights on Welenken and Wertheim. Putting aside the lack of substantive merit to plaintiff’s claims, no personal jurisdiction exists over Welenken CPAs and Wertheim in Minnesota.
The firm said they were called by Banks to perform accounting services for himself and then-Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett.
They argued, “Wertheim has never spoken to or communicated with Garnett in any way regarding Hammer Holdings, LLC. In fact, Wertheim met Garnett briefly only once, at a basketball game in New York, and they did not discuss any business on that occasion.”
They tried to argue the case was filed in the wrong venue and therefore should be dismissed. The firm also demanded the entire case be dismissed saying “the allegations, in this case, have nothing to do with the services defendants were retained to, and did, provide to Garnett and his business. Instead, all of the claims relate to allegedly fraudulent transactions by Banks.”
