Complaint Review: Jeffrey McKee Attorney

Dear Mastercard, I am providing requested information and evidence to the rebuttal that we received from JEFFEREY A MCKEE PC in response to my $3,200 dispute. I was notified of the rebuttal via voicemail on August 1st 2019 while I am out of the country, and hence this is my response with evidence. In the course of my company business affairs, I became the victim of extortion and addressed these issues with the FBI in Phoenix Arizona on the morning of April 1st 2019 at their Phoenix, Arizona Headquarters. I met with special agent ******* who understood the scope of the crime and asked that I forward The accused individual’s contact information via e mail for further investigation as Agent ******** requested.

(Exhibit A1) Agent ******* did mention that the threshold for Investigation by the FBI into such matters usually starts at damages of $20,000,000 or more, and thus she suggested that I find a local attorney and ask for help in the matter. I asked for a recommendation, and Agent ********* recommended attorney ****** _ ****** in Phoenix Arizona, with whom she had worked with before and was represented by ****** as a highly honest and ethical man who used to work for the Arizona Attorney General’s office as a prosecutor. I contacted ************* later in the morning of April 1st and we set up an initial consultation for the following day, April 2nd 2019.

(Exhibit A2) In my April 2nd meeting with **************, a criminal attorney. He and I concluded that the best course of action would be to start with a business demand letter and that I consider filing a civil complaint. After the civil complaint would be filled, then I could return to him and he would then hand over the facts of the matter to the Arizona Attorney General’s office for investigation. He decided to refer me to a business attorney and I reluctantly agreed since I wanted to stay with an FBI referral. In our initial meeting, ************ referred me to his friend, Jeffery A. McKee via e-mail. McKee responded immediately via e mail and an April 3rd initial consultation was set up for 2 p.m. between McKee and myself.

(Exhibit A3) I met McKee at his 1650 N. First Ave Office a little before 2 p.m. When I first met McKee, he was relaxing with another man, both in lawn chairs, McKee smoking a cigar on the front lawn of his building. I was surprised to find him in such a state when he was expecting to meet with me at that time, but since I was referred to him via the FBI contact, I didn’t dwell too much on the odd first meeting. We spoke briefly about my case, but mostly we had a friendly and casual conversation about life, art and his daughter who is an artist and living in Berlin. McKee represented that he understood that I needed to start off with a demand letter. But that we may file a complaint and that his standard attorney-client agreement requires a $5,000 deposit retainer into his trust account. He represented that unused funds will be promptly returned.

(EXHIBIT A4) I signed McKee’s standard agreement and made a $5,000 Mastercard terminal payment on April 3rd 2019. (EXHIBIT B1-B5) The very next day after I paid the $5,000 and signed the agreement, McKee and myself started having conflict almost instantly because McKee’s behavior and comprehension seemed to change overnight. Instead of taking action and writing a demand letter as instructed, McKee started confounding issues to create ambiguities as what appears to be now a tactic to defraud his client. I addressed these issues of with him "playing dumb” on the phone and via e mail.

(EXHIBIT C1-C2) I immediately contacted ************* who was referred from the FBI to seek a different referral and explain what I had encountered with McKee. McKee then convinced me to give him another chance and I agreed and let ********** know.

(EXHIBIT C3) I then told McKee that I would write the demand letter and submit exhibits of evidence myself and he could just transcribe my letter onto his letterhead and include my provided and numbered exhibits. He Agreed and we did so.

(EXHIBIT C-4-C6 & D1-D6) In a third and final letter to my customer, which I also wrote, McKee started to rework the letter to represent lies and misinformation. I immediately objected! With the demand letters I wrote sent on McKee’s letterhead, I began to inquire about my billing and the next steps needed to file a complaint with or without McKee

(Exhibit E1-E5) What followed next was McKee advancing his nonsense by foisting onto me a bill representing over 10 billable hours which is impossible. The majority of our time was spent on me admonishing him and his actions and correcting his transcribed letters on his letterhead that I wrote! It became clear to me that McKee had defrauded me intentionally and his method was to confound issues and playing dumb to create continuous confusion and then to use it as a pretense to bill. There is no justification in his billing. The work was simply not done as represented in the invoice and contradicts the aforementioned evidence.

(Exhibit E6-E8) At that time I needed to fly back to Europe and could no longer deal with the issue at that time. While away on my trip I started to research McKee to try to understand his disturbing behavior. What I found disturbed me even more. Just months prior to defrauding me, McKee had just completed a one-year probation for his wrongful behavior with a prior client. The Presiding Disciplinary Judge sanctioned him for his conduct in violation of the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct. McKee admitted to violating Rule 42,

(EXHIBIT F1-F7) and specifically, ERs: 1.2 (scope or representation), 1.4 (communication) 1.5(b) (fees) 1.6. (confidentiality of information) 1.7 (conflict of interest/current client) 1.9 (duty to inform former client)

(EXHIBIT F4) McKee further agreed that he negligently violated his duties to his client and the profession by failing to avoid conflicts of interest and his misconduct caused potential harm to the client. He further agreed to aggravating factor 9.22(i) (Substantial experience in the practice of law)

(Exhibit F6) I tried to return to ****** with no success

(Exhibit G1) ********Letter to Mastercard as a charge dispute; FBI agent and referal attorney's names have been removed to protect their privacy! *****

I have had a similar experience with McKee... he is a fraud and a victimizer. Stay away from this degenerate who poses as a human being. 

I was the attorney who represented Linda Lamore and her former husband, Jack Tilli.  This matter occurred over 20 years ago.  I did not know the real estate agents; I would have recommended naming the realtors as defendants if there were viable claims against them.  There were not.  Ms. Lamore and Mr. Tilli agreed to extend the closing date for the real estate transaction in exchange for an increased sales price. 

I was not involved in the transaction.  The buyers failed to close.  I obtained a judgment for Ms. Lamore and Mr. Tilli against the buyers.  Importantly, Ms. Lamore and Mr. Tilli sold their home to another buyer shortly thereafter for a higher sales price.  Therefore, even if there were claims against the realtors, which there were not, Ms. Lamore and Mr. Tilli suffered no damage, and indeed were better off with the subsequent sale for a higher price.  Ms. Lamore attempted to file a complaint with the State Bar of Arizona, but it was rejected by the bar for the reasons stated above.