The Complaint Alleges One of the Largest Investment Fraud Schemes in California History Involving Many Senior Citizens

Three major California Law Firms filed a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California on behalf of investors across the United States who invested in the various investment properties owned by the real estate corporation LeFever Mattson, Inc., founded by partners Kenneth Mattson and Timothy LeFever.

The suit alleges that Mattson and LeFever used a “complex web of corporate entities” to effectuate one of the largest real estate investment schemes in Northern California to deprive investors of their savings. Mattson and LeFever tricked investors into believing that their investments were sound by promising and making consistent payments of interest. These regular payments masked growing disarray and illegal commingling of investor funds across a series of unidentified real estate properties. Further, unbeknownst to these investors, the investment properties were largely dilapidated and neglected.

Many class members have described a pattern of behavior where Mattson and LeFever preyed upon elders to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars of their personal finances with the partners, including some who placed their entire life savings with Mattson and LeFever. The deceit was revealed this spring, when LeFever Mattson halted regular distributions to investors, and the founders sued each other. The founders’ dueling suits revealed allegations of fraud and mismanagement. LeFever claims that Mattson exploited his reputation as a “financial genius” to defraud investors into investing in LeFever Mattson limited partnerships, and that Mattson hid transactions from the LeFever Mattson company by keeping the proceeds from these transactions in a secret bank account. Mattson in turn claims that he was authorized to issue these investments on behalf of the investment company, and that LeFever wrongfully halted distributions to investors.

Blair Kittle, of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, stated, “According to the complaint, LeFever and Mattson were able to defraud hundreds of unsuspecting investors trying to save for retirement. LeFever and Mattson were able to trick the young, the old, the sophisticated and the unsophisticated alike. All kinds of people, from retired school teachers, to dentists, to meatpackers, to corporate lawyers fell prey to the scam.”

Frederick Schenk, of the CaseyGerry law firm, said, “Mattson’s investors have reported losing everything they have saved. They entrusted him with their retirement savings, the equity in their homes, their inheritances and even their parents’ investments. The economic consequences of these losses will impact the lives of hundreds of people in significant ways. The loss of trust, however, will be immeasurable.”

Elizabeth Cabraser, of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, commented that “This investors’ class action complaint seeks recovery for hundreds of investors, many of them elderly, who were defrauded into investing in real estate limited partnerships through the promise of regular interest payments. These regular payments, coupled with defendants’ façade of competence and stewardship, masked growing disarray and illegal commingling of investor funds.”

About the Law Firms

Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP engages exclusively in litigation and trials and has earned a national reputation for its dedication to prosecuting or defending socially just actions. To learn more about the firm, visit www.cpmlegal.com.

CaseyGerry has earned a national reputation for its expertise in various types of civil litigation and has handled a wide variety of complex litigation. To learn more about the firm, visit www.caseygerry.com.

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP engages in a diverse range of complex civil litigation and has a national reputation for professional integrity and is regarded as “one of the nation’s premier plaintiffs’ firms.” To learn more about the firm, visit www.lieffcabraser.com.

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