The Paducah-based Bryant Law Center and two other firms have filed a class action lawsuit against three financial institutions for their alleged role in a multi-million-dollar “ghost cattle” scheme, Bryant Law Center founder Mark Bryant announced Thursday.
The class action alleges the banks — Community Financial Services Bank, RABO AgriFinance and Mechanics Bank — sustained a Ponzi scheme by financially backing and ignoring signs of misconduct by the man at the center of the scheme, Brian McClain.
McClain, a Benton, Kentucky, farmer and business owner, was accused of defrauding investors of millions of dollars through a fictitious cattle investment operation before he died by suicide in 2023. The suit, filed on behalf of investors from Graves County, claims the financial institutions’ failures enabled McClain to appear to be running a successful cattle operation while he diverted funds from new investors to pay older ones.
“The plaintiffs, many of whom were everyday Kentuckians, invested their savings in what they believed was a stable, high-yield cattle operation,” a news release from Bryant read in part. “In reality, the complaint states, the promised cattle never existed, and the returns that were paid were paid using new investor funds in classic Ponzi fashion. The complaint outlines how the banks allegedly turned a blind eye to hundreds of millions of dollars in irregular and suspicious transactions and details how each bank played a distinct role in facilitating McClain’s scheme.”
The complaint claims that RABO AgriFinance extended more than $70 million in credit to McClain despite concerns over poor recordkeeping and actual cattle ownership. CFSB allegedly allowed more than 100 days of overdrawn accounts — at times by more than $1 million — and did not act despite signs of suspicious intercompany transfers. It also claims Mechanics Bank knowingly participated in a pattern of overdrafts and transfers.
The complaint also alleges CFSB was familiar with McClain’s financial position before and during the scheme and failed to act amid a drastic change in his finances.
The class action “alleges claims for aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting theft by deception, gross negligence, aiding and abetting securities fraud, and civil conspiracy,” according to the news release.
“This case is about fairness and transparency,” a statement from Bryant read. “Innocent, hardworking Kentuckians were misled and financially harmed by a system that prioritized profit over people. We believe the law is on their side.”
According to Bryant, plaintiffs in the class action are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and “other appropriate relief permitted by law.”
The class action was filed in Graves County Circuit Court. Trial attorneys Mark Bryant, Emily Roark and David Bryant of Bryant Law Center; Ron Parry of Strauss Troy; and William F. McMurry of William F. McMurry and Associates filed the suit.
Earlier this year, a complaint was filed in a U.S. bankruptcy court alleging the same banks named in the class action suit enabled the ghost cattle scheme. The Sun’s previous coverage of the case can be found online at https://tinyurl.com/53tbw7ba.
