Charles Banks has been a force in the wine industry for the past decade and his company, Terroir Capital, now owns all or part of 11 wineries.

Now the future of Terroir is up in the air, after accusations of fraud have emerged.

Banks made his name in the wine industry when he and a partner bought Screaming Eagle in 2006. Banks later sold off his share of that winery, but retains interests in 11 others, including Mayacamas in Napa Valley and Mulderbosch in South Africa.

On Friday, Banks was escorted into a San Antonio, Texas courthouse in handcuffs. He was charged with two counts of federal wire fraud in a case that appears to have nothing to do with his wine businesses, but is actually even more attention-getting. Banks is accused of having attempted to defraud basketball star Tim Duncan, who Fox Sports earlier this year called “the greatest NBA player of this generation”.

If convicted, Banks could face up to 20 years in federal prison on each count. Federal court cases have different rules, generally favoring the prosecution, than the state criminal cases with which many Americans are familiar because of popular TV shows. Because of this, the conviction rate in US federal courts is 93 percent, compared to 84 percent in Texas state court.