Civic Ventures turned out to be a waste of time and money that bordered on criminal.
A federal agency has agreed to a $175,000 settlement with Civic Ventures former manger Byron Winton, whom it had accused of improperly taking nearly $400,000 from the fund. The U.S. Small Business Administration filed a civil lawsuit last year against Winton, the fund’s manager, claiming he had violated the terms of agreements under which the fund got loans totaling $8.7 million.
The fund started with investments from Anheuser-Busch and other large area businesses. It was intended to bolster minority-owned businesses while turning a profit. The fund also received cash guarantees from the SBA.
In the portfolio of about a dozen loans made by the fund to black-owned companies, most were never repaid, and many of the companies disappeared or could not be located.