Broken trust: How a Clearwater man took $100M from funds for disabled, records say
The oncologist met the financial adviser and his son in 2012 at a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game and ended up sharing a 10-year season ticket to a Bucs suite that Govoni bought through one of his companies.
Over several years, the Govonis pitched Wenk on investing in Big Storm Brewing, a fast-growing craft beer and spirits company. After seeing plans for a sleek high-end steakhouse and spirit room in May 2021, Wenk plunked down $3 million from his personal accounts.
It was easy to believe Govoni was a savvy businessperson. He flew friends on his twin-engine private jet to watch the Kentucky Derby from his executive suite at Churchill Downs. He doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to politicians.
In February, Govoni was accused in bankruptcy court records of orchestrating a $100 million loan to his own company from a nonprofit he founded. The money was siphoned from special-needs trust funds set up to pay medical bills for people with profound disabilities, records state.
Then in May, a state court froze Govoni’s bank accounts and assets at the request of state prosecutors who in a civil complaint accused him and business associates of stealing more than $2 million from a second trust fund nonprofit.
