The Oreana Winery location in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara County – Northern Santa Barbara County is fast becoming known as a world class wine grape growing region, with a flurry of notable appellations and wineries now on the maps of oenophiles around the globe. Where there is a booming wine industry, there is money; that’s what Christian Lucas Garvin, a 41-year-old Solvang winemaker and winery manager was apparently most interested in.
Christian Lucas Garvin
According to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood, Garvin had been an equity owner of Oreana Winery, partnered with Los Angeles investors. Those investors initiated “an audit of the company’s record keeping” in 2013. When certain “discrepancies” and instances of “poor bookkeeping” became evident, the audit soon revealed that Garvin had helped himself to $200,000 in funds from the coffers of the business.
At that point, according to Harwood, “the victims contacted the police.” The ensuing investigation uncovered a parallel bank account “with a name similar to the one rightfully controlled by Oreana Winery,” which only Garvin controlled and knew about. It was soon discovered that Garvin had funneled more than $1.2 million into this account, and that he had failed to report these funds as income to the Franchise Tax Board.
An arrest warrant was issued for Garvin on October 13th, but it was not until last Thursday, November 5th, that Garvin was spotted driving through the city of Buellton not far from the Oreana facilities, whereupon he was detained and arrested on that warrant. He was then transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on charges of grand theft, embezzlement, and tax fraud, with his bail set at $400,000.
Photos: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking, Google Maps
