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 The investment banker, advisor and former partner of Screaming Eagle, the multi-millionaire Charles Banks from Atlanta, owns many wine companies including Mayacamas Vineyards in Napa Valley, Fable and Mulderbosch in South Africa and even one in New Zealand through his holding company , Terroir Capital.
Banks believes that South Africa should learn a lesson from California’s cult wine producer Sine Qua Non’s owner, Manfred Krankl who makes some of the most expensive wines but doesn’t do things by the book. “This guy has basically broken every rule that you would ever make. South Africa could do with a little more of Krankl who believes that in his organization they reportedly say that you can either follow the straight and narrow path or you can Krankl," said Banks. "Every now and then you’ve got to Krankl,” he adds.
It appears Banks took his own advice seriously and Krankled too-at least one time too many. Based on evidence and his admission to part of the accusations, he has been sentenced to four years prison by a court in San Antonio Texas for defrauding his client, the NBA baseball player Duncan. Duncan spent his entire 19-years as a basketball player with NBA.
Media reports say he has gotten away relatively easy as he faced up to 20 years in prison. Released on bail he has to report to the federal authorities on August 28, according to a report in Wine-Searcher.com. He will stay behind bars until April 2021and also pay a fine of $7.5 million though the petitioner, Duncan. A picture published by Wine-Searcher shows the couple smiling as they walk out of the courthouse, looking relieved at much lower sentence.
According to the report, Duncan lost $13.5 million because of the fraudulent advice given by Banks. Duncan said to the court on Tuesday, ‘you may not understand how difficult it is for me to be in the public light in this horrible way, as the poster child for a dumb athlete whose financial adviser took his money," pleading with the judge not to be lenient in sentencing.
"My biggest fear is that you will give him a sentence that will allow him to go out into the world and tell everyone as he has continued to do since his guilty plea that he did not do anything wrong and he proves it by having very little to no jail time," Duncan told US District Judge Fred Biery. I promise you, that if he has any excuse to get back into this line of business, he will be out hustling and doing the same to others."
Banks had avoided a long trial and possibly a longer sentence by pleading guilty in April this year, to wire fraud for lying to Duncan about the terms of a $6 million loan guarantee he persuaded him to sign in 2012.
Banks still faces an SEC lawsuit which could make him ineligible to continue work as a financial advisor when he gets out of prison. As a convicted felon, he may not be able to manage any winery in California also, but he can maintain his share in Terroir Capital.
Interestingly, his Twitter page says- I love my family, friends and wine. Trying to make a business of that! He did not mention money, greed or cheating others for my family!! |