Spurs' Duncan Files Another Lawsuit Against Former Financial Adviser

In a newly filed lawsuit, San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan is claiming a former advisor tricked him into investing $1.1 million into a “profitable” cosmetics company that turned out to be approaching bankruptcy.

The lawsuit alleges that Duncan’s adviser, Charles Banks, misrepresented the current and future financial standing of the company and did not disclose to him that Le Métier de Beauté (the Craft of Beauty) was failing financially. Duncan was also told that others would pitch in money for the deal, including fellow-NBA star Kevin Garnett. The company, officially named Métier Tribeca LLC, is now bankrupt according to court records.

“Duncan, reasonably relying on these misrepresentations, was induced to enter into the investment in Le Métier,” the lawsuit states. “Duncan suffered damages proximately caused by defendant’s fraudulent inducement.”

Duncan is seeking the return of his $1.1 million as well as punitive damages from Banks.

Duncan also sued Banks earlier this year after a pre-divorce finance review led the five-time NBA champion to discover he’d lost $25 million due to bad investments between 2005 and 2013. The lawsuit claimed Banks pushed Duncan toward several investments in hotels, beauty products, sports merchandising and wineries despite conflicts of interest. Court records show Banks owned or had a financial stake in all of the ventures Duncan claimed to be persuaded to invest in.

“Over the course of 17 years, I invested in a series of opportunities presented by Charles Banks, on his assurance that we were working together for my family’s long-term financial security,” Duncan said in a statement back in January. “Banks exploited my good intentions and our relationship for his personal gain and my substantial loss. I’m saddened that my name will join the list of athletes to fall victim to this sort of misconduct.”

Prior to the 2015 season, Duncan took a significant pay cut to give the Spurs more operating room in free agency, signing a deal for two years worth $10.4 million. According to Sportrac.com, Duncan is third among active players in career earnings at $235,631,050 behind only Garnett and Kobe Bryant.