The SEC accused agent WILLIAM "TANK" BLACK of
"fraudulently causing two dozen athletes," including Raptors
F VINCE CARTER and Jaguars RB FRED TAYLOR, "to lose at
least" $13.5M, according to Neil Roland of BLOOMBERG NEWS.
The SEC "obtained a court order freezing the assets" of
Black and his SC agency PMI and required them "to account
for their proceeds." The Federal Court suit filed in Tampa,
which also names PMI General Counsel JAMES FRANKLIN, alleges
that Black sold his clients' "stock that he had gotten for
free, reaped undisclosed fees and commissions and siphoned
... investment returns for himself." It also claims that
Black "encouraged the athletes to invest in a fraudulent
offshore scheme in which new customers' deposits were used
to pay the returns of early investors in a so-called Ponzi
scheme." Black and Franklin were also charged with "theft,
failure to disclose fees and failure to register as an
investment adviser" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/26).
WHAT IT MEANS FOR VINCE: In Toronto, under the header
"Is Agent Baggage For Vince?", Craig Daniels wrote that
Carter is "being caught up in the vortex" of Black's
situation. Carter is Black's only NBA client. Carter's
mother, Michelle Carter-Robinson, added, "Some person or
persons want to run (Black) out of business, and I think
this is their way of doing that. We are sticking by Tank
Black" (TORONTO SUN, 2/26). Carter: "[Black] didn't do
anything to me. I'm not worried about it and I'm sticking
behind him, plain and simple" (GLOBE & MAIL, 2/26).
