Banks Law Office Responds To Eugene Register Guard Article About James Scott McKee And Steve Master
Portland, OR (PRWEB) November 04, 2013 -- On November 2, 2013, The Eugene Register Guard (Oregon) and San Francisco Gate both ran an article,entitled "Victims Try To Recoup Money Lost In Eugene Investment Scam." The articles reported on the recent guilty plea entered in Eugene by James Scott McKee. The articles referenced the civil lawsuit filed by Banks Law Office on behalf of 17 investors in the Master Private Equity Fund and the Master Fixed Income Fund. In that lawsuit, Evans, et al. v. Master Private Equity Fund, et al., Civil No. 1306-08471 (Multnomah County, Oregon Circuit Court), Banks Law Office seeks a refund of their client’s investments of approximately $2.5 million, plus interest and attorney fees.
Robert Banks of Banks Law Office in Portland, Oregon, confirms that "although the newspapers report that they contacted and sought comments from the attorneys for Steve Master and Scott McKee, nobody called our office or our clients to ask about the nature of our pending lawsuit." As a result, said Mr. Banks, the articles make inaccurate assumptions and rely on statements from the lawyer for Steve Master to describe the civil case. Banks states that, “The Register Guard article about Scott McKee’s guilty plea and our suit to recover investment losses leaves a rather misleading impression about the nature of our Master funds lawsuit. The "Victims" articles suggest that our lawsuit over the Master funds is based entirely on the actions of Scott McKee, which is not true. In investment fraud cases it is rare for one individual to act alone. This case is no exception, and we have named a number of defendants who we believe are responsible for these investment losses”. Banks Law invites readers to review the complaint on file in court and draw their own conclusions. A link to the complaint is here.
The Register Guard's and SF Gates' "Victims" article also reports that Master's lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss the case, without any reporting on the nature or basis for that motion. "That statement was also one-sided and hardly representative of objective reporting," said Banks. The publications made no effort to investigate the nature of the Master motions, or the investors' response. Banks Law invites readers to review the actual motion filed by Master and the Banks Law Office response. Banks states, "The Register Guard article fails to mention that the focus of the Master motion is actually to force our clients to re-file the case in New York City because they want to increase the costs to the victims of pursuing their lawsuit. The motion to dismiss has little if anything to do with who is at fault for these investment sales, which we have alleged are illegal."
“I have been representing investors for 30 years, and I think that this is a very strong case,” said plaintiff’s lead attorney, Robert Banks. “Rather than fight a war of words, we encourage readers to follow the case and the evidence that comes out, and see how the jury ultimately decides the case.”
As reported in the Register Guard here, Banks Law has been helping investors who made investments through companies associated with Scott McKee and Steve Master since early 2012. Banks alerted the Eugene Police Department about concerns for people who had invested through McKee at that time. Banks Law is proud to have fully cooperated with the police and the district attorney’s office throughout their investigation. If investors have any concerns or questions regarding the Master Private Equity Fund or the Master Fixed Income Fund please contact our office to speak with Robert Banks directly.
Bob Banks, Banks Law Office, http://www.bankslawoffice.com, 800 647 8130, [email protected]
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