A Solvang winemaker and former manager for a downtown Santa Barbara winery is facing criminal charges following a joint investigation between state and county law enforcement.
Santa Barbara County Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood said 41-year-old Christian Garvin was arrested on Nov. 5 following an investigation into the winemaker’s finances that began in 2013.
The investigation between the SBPD’s Property Crimes Unit, the California Franchise Tax Board’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, and the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office revealed that Garvin diverted more than $1 million from Oreana Winery to a bank account he created that was similar in name to the winery’s, according to Harwood.
Garvin’s stake in the winery was only 10 percent, Harwood said, while the other 90 percent belonged to two business partners in Los Angeles.
When suspicions first arose, the victims (who are also the owners of the winery), originally believed Garvin had embezzled more than $200,000. But when investigators took a closer look, they say he actually took more than $1.2 million between the years of 2006 and 2013.
Investigators also discovered that he filed false state income tax returns between 2008 and 2013, which was the year Garvin left Oreana.
Garvin showed potential for a promising career in the wine industry. His Oreana Winery garnered attention several years ago as one of the pioneers of Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone, a hip section of bars and music venues near the corner of Yanonali and Anacapa streets. And in 2000, while working at Kahn Winery, Garvin collaborated with the Frank Sinatra Foundation on the release of a limited edition cabernet wine called “Cab Frank.”
Garvin is suspected of grand theft embezzlement and tax evasion and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail where he was being held.
This article appears in Nov 12-19, 2015.