Club promoter and Jordan friend faces federal charges

A longtime friend of Michael Jordan, once described as part of the basketball legend’s “inner circle,” has been charged with money laundering and tax fraud, according to court documents filed Friday.

Adolph Shiver, who has known the Hornets’ owner since both were teenagers, is a longtime promoter and club owner in Charlotte.

His Club 935 remains one of the city’s top venues for hip-hop and R&B artists, and a popular destination during the CIAA Tournament and other events. But it has been dogged in recent years by violence, the treading economy and complaints from its Wesley Heights neighbors.

Now Shiver also is accused of breaking the law.

Felony charges were filed Friday morning by the office of U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins. According to those documents, Shiver is accused of agreeing to money launder illegal proceeds. He is also accused of filing a false tax return.

Shiver apparently has reached a plea agreement, which was also filed Friday, but the details remain sealed.

His attorney, Jake Sussman of Charlotte, described Shiver as “a hardworking businessman who made a mistake and has taken full responsibility for his actions.”

According to a Jan. 14 affidavit unsealed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration earlier this year, authorities caught Shiver on tape and video agreeing to launder some $50,000 in drug money offered him by a well-known trafficker acting as a DEA source. The meeting took place in November 2013.

Steve Cohen, a special agent with the DEA, wrote in the affidavit that Shiver planned to funnel the money through a New Year’s party at Club 935, and that he had laundered illegal money in the past.

“Laundering” money from drugs or gambling generally involves using it for other purposes, making it harder for authorities to track.

According to the affidavit, Shiver took the money Dec. 12 during a meeting at his club. The trafficker told Shiver that he was free to keep $5,000 or $6,000 for his help but that the source needed the rest back.

In his affidavit, the DEA agent asked a judge for permission to search for the money and other items at Shiver’s club at 935 S. Summit Road, his SouthPark condo and his safe-deposit box at a Bank of America branch on Fairview Road.

Sussman acknowledged that his client took the money, but he said he returned the entire sum to the informant “without prompting or knowing that he was part of a sting operation.”

“Mr. Shiver did not know that the informant...was supposed to be a drug dealer,” Sussman said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Kaufman said in his new filing that prosecutors intend to go after Shiver’s assets and property to recover all proceeds connected to the alleged illegal activity.

In 2011, federal authorities charged Shiver with failing to file tax returns in 2004-06 on about $145,000 combined income. He was placed on probation and ordered to pay about $19,000 in restitution.

Shiver, who attended UNC Chapel Hill during Jordan’s rise to stardom, was a frequent companion of the basketball player during his college days and his professional playing career with the Chicago Bulls. A 1991 story in the Chicago Tribune detailed Shiver’s arrest in Atlanta when he tried to stop police from taking Jordan’s teammate, Charles Oakley, into custody.

Shiver and Jordan pledged the same college fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, and according to published reports Shiver took the name “Batman” while Jordan was “Robin.”

Published stories of their friendship have trailed off over the past 10 years.

Club 935 opened in late 2008 and drew big crowds with appearances from such urban headliners as Nelly and Drake.

Last February, a man was shot to death in the club’s parking lot, and for a time the Wesley Heights neighborhood tried to have Shiver’s operation closed.

Club attorney John Gresham said Friday that Shiver pays to have up to a dozen off-duty police officers working security at his venue most nights and that the Wesley Heights neighborhood association has not had any complaints for months. Researcher Maria David contributed.

This story was originally published November 14, 2014 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Club promoter and Jordan friend faces federal charges."