EAST ST. LOUIS – A dispute between brothers involving their cash lending business and allegations of a clandestine scheme that allegedly deprived one from more than $750,000 has landed in federal court in East St. Louis.
Plaintiff Mark Bartlett’s suit against his brother Jim Bartlett and his wife Denise, son Evan, his “right hand man” Anoosh Motamedi and store employee Mark Keenan was originally filed in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois last June, but was transferred to the Southern District of Illinois in January.
Mark Bartlett claims that he and Jim had jointly owned cash lending stores for more than 13 years, but in 2014, Jim allegedly began to deprive him of the value of his interest in four of the lending stores they owned together.
The plaintiff further alleges that the defendants organized a company called “Dellano” to operate a new loan business they called AAA Quick Cash Advance, or more commonly known as Quick Cash.
He claims that at Jim’s direction Denise, Anoosh and Evan incorporated three entities, listing themselves as owners, and then funneled “Jim’s money” through them which effectively hid Jim’s “de facto” ownership of Dellano.
“Once the new entities had been organized, Jim, Anoosh, and Keenan began siphoning money, resources, customers, and profits from the stores Jim and Mark jointly owned, to Jim’s new Quick Cash stores,” the complaint states.
“This crippled Mark and Jim’s business, while bolstering Quick Cash. To date, Jim, with the help of his wife, his son, Anoosh, and Keenan has expropriated over $750,000 from Mark and Jim’s jointly-owned stores. Jim plans to continue plundering the lending stores that he and Mark jointly own until they have been completely looted.”
Mark Bartlett’s attorneys, Steven N. Malitz, Christopher Naveja and Joseph Hoolihan of Chicago, have been granted appearances as pro hac vice attorneys in the Southern District of Illinois.
Defense attorney Richard Keith Hellerman of Chicago has not yet entered appearance.
The docket does not reflect a judicial assignment or any scheduling orders.