COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Henderson man John Scherle sues TS Prosperity in small claims court, claiming the bank invested his money in a fund that turned out to be a scam. The bank says, it is also a victim and that Scherle knew investing comes with risks.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
I'm southwest Iowa Neighborhood Reporter Katrina Markel, following up on a story we first broke in July.
A Henderson man is suing TS Prosperity, the investment arm of TS Bank,in small claims court over the way it invested his money. But,the bank is pushing back, arguing it was also a victim of an investment scam.
I was in small claims court this week as John Scherle pursued his case against TS Banking Group.
It boils down to this: Scherle is arguing that the bank breached its fiduciary duty by investing his money,not in conservative funds that he wanted, but instead in a company called Mediatrix — fund federal prosecutors say was a multi-million dollar scam.
Mediatrix claimed that they never had a losing month, an assertion so grandiose that Scherle believes TS Prosperity should have known something was amiss.
He's suing to get his original investment back. The case was in front of judge this week.
Scherle: "I have a sense of justice and what's right and what's wrong and this was just not right."
Scherle was expecting a trial this week, but it's now rescheduled for December.
TS Prosperity told the judge this case should wait until the federal case against Mediatrix is over. Their lawyers declined to comment.
STATEMENT FROM TS BANK SPOKESPERSON EMAILED TO KMTV IN JULY
“TS Prosperity Group can confirm, that in 2019 it was one of the over 100 victims of Mediatrix’s crimes that impacted individuals and companies throughout the U.S. With the involvement of the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal prosecution of Mediatrix has been ongoing for six years in Colorado federal court. The legal proceedings against Mediatrix are still pending, so we would need to refer you to the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information regarding this case.”
