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by Sheep Shearer

MSR though Phillipe Martinez has filed a Civil RICO lawsuit against a group of defendants in relation to the St Kitts and Nevis as well as the St Lucia CBI programs. This is a dispute over damages (money) where MSR claims to have been harmed financially by the actions of the defendants.Phillipe Matinez appears to love the spotlight and has been bigger than life in the media and interviews all of which give us valuable insight and information. He has been freely discussing the alleged MSR damages to the public. The damages seem to center on three specific claims and these claims are in fact his/MSR Achilles heels. 1) That MSR invested millions of dollars in the film industry in St Kitts and Nevis and the CBI Public Benefit Option was offered as a way to recoup their investments and make more movies.2) That MSR was either unwilling or unable to sell their lawfully granted PBO units at the legally mandated price due to Galaxy discounting the jail project in St Kitts and Nevis and infrastructure project in St Lucia. So MSR has lost it’s investments in St Kitts and Nevis.3) That the citizens of St Kitts and Nevis as well as St Lucia lost Billions of dollars of CBI revenue due to the discounting program and he eluded that he was going to facilitate a class action lawsuit in the near future to help the citizens recoup that money from foreign banks in the UAE and Asia.I will cover these one by one over the coming week starting now with the claim of lost investment.Firstly, we should start with Phillipe Martines’s, MSR and the Shareholders boastful past that MSR likes to exert in their documents and on their website. Let’s look at what is claimed.• From their court claim: “MSR Media International, LLC (“MSR Media International”)is a dynamic international sales company focusing on commercial feature films and television series for audiences around the world. MSRMedia International has served as an international distributor of all ten of the movies that have been filmed in the St. Kitts and Nevis.”• From their court claim: Martinez has produced over sixty (60) successful movies in over thirty (30) years in the movie business.• From their website: The principals of MSR Media SKN LTD have a nearly 30-year track-record of producing more than 100 films. Most recently, we have produced 10 films in the past 30 months in the beautiful twin-island nation, in partnership with major international distribution companies including Lionsgate, Grindstone and Saban.The MSR story in the court filings claim they came to St Kitts and Nevis in 2020 as they sought a location with low Covid-19 rates where they could film movies. A deal was stuck with the Nevis Island Administration through Mark Brantly that is said to have included a $150,000 per movie stipend payable to MSR to offset housing costs for cast and crew. Several movies were shot in 2020 and in 2021 it is alleged that St Kitts officials reached out to MSR to also film movies in St Kitts and in 2021 4 more movies were filmed. In 2022 it is alleged that MSR, Phillipe Martinez and the MSR investors were introduced to Les Khan (CEO of the CBI unit) and the CBI program. Did the CBI Unit reach out or did MSR reach out, an interesting question. Ultimately, MSR was offered shares under the CBI alternate Investment Option, and were granted shares in May 2022. They purchased the OTI hotel in December of 2022 and were granted additional shares to sell. Dates are important and I will have more on this.MSR claims in their litigation: They “have invested millions of dollars in St. Kitts and Nevis by building a thriving movie industry. They also claim:” Both MSR and its American investors expected to realize their investment from the MSR Entities’ sales of CBI shares.So herein is their Achillies heel:MSR came to St Kitts and Nevis as a movie company with presumably no knowledge of the CBI program to make movies and a profit from the sales of those movies. MSR claims to have made 10 films in St Kitts and Nevis. Surely, with their background and experience that they boost about they understand costs and the market and should have sold these films and realized a profit. So, I ask where did the money go? How is it you have lost your millions that you claim were invested, plus you also were given an extra $150,000 per film that was paid by the Nevis Island Administration? Was it poor management, was it supporting an extravagant budget for Phillipe Martinez, were the shareholders/investors dupped?To top it off, Phillipe Matinez as well as some of the MSR executives have a less than stellar history when it comes to managing money and producing successful movies. Perhaps that was the catalyst that led to the fraud conviction. St Kitts and Nevis was not Phillipe Martinez’s only foray into the film industry and investors losing monies. A 2008 article in the Bombreport states Phillipe Martinez received $200 Million from British Investors after serving his jail time in France to launch Bauer Martinez Studios and produce movies. The Bombreport states “Martinez had more hubris than understanding how to run a successful studio”. “Just one year later (yes just one year) he could barely stay open for business or release any of his films”. He is reported to have made “many poor decisions that led to his line of capital drying up.” A Los Angelas Times article from 2007 in regards to Bauer Marinez studio reported the following “Martinez acknowledges that the firm (Bauer Martinez studios) has left unpaid bills at film labs, public relations firms and movie marketing companies. Faced with a cash crisis, Martinez says, he cut the staff by two-thirds.” Sound familiar? Additionally, MiraMax in Oct 2008 filed a commercial eviction lawsuit against Bauer Martinez Studios. Other MSR executives have had similar business failings. Karinne Behr who is reported to be Phillipe Martinez’s sister and was reported as the President and Partner at Sanborn Studios in Florida by the Bradenton Herald also happens to be an Executive Producer in MSR. Sandorn Studios were to create over 100 high paying jobs in exchange for a government grant of $650,000. The jobs never materialized and, in the end, Sandorn Studios was dissolved and agreed to pay back $350,000+ to the County of Sarasota. In 2016 the County stated they were starting collection proceedings. Do you see a pattern? Is MSR’s loss of “millions” in claimed damages the result of actions by the defendant’s or a result of poor management and decision making by Phillipe Martinez and MSR executives?The last item that comes into question, when did Martinez learn of the discounting scheme? Remember dates are important. They started filming in 2020, were offered shares in the CBI program in May of 2022 and in December of 2022 bought the OTI (approximately 3yrs after coming to St Kitts and Nevis). They claim to have evidential recordings of Les Khan. They state that around May of 2022 the Harris administration and Khan came under public criticism and allegations of fraud. It seems clear they were aware and knew full well of the alleged issues surrounding the CBI Unit and discounting schemes early in 2022 or perhaps even sooner. Yet MSR still went ahead eyes wide open taking the risk and purchased the OTI hotel in December of 2022. If that is the case, are the defendants responsible for that decision? MSR still own’s the hotel which has a value. So, are there any the damages?Remember, you need to prove a loss to have damages. These questions and more would come out at trial in court and perhaps is why Martinez is exerting great pressure by seemingly trying this case in the public domain looking for a quick settlement. I suggest the defendants need to dig deep into the finances and background of MSR as I smell a Wolfe and we will sheer him some more in the next release where we will address MSR’s claim they were unable to sell the CBI units. I should also note here, the alleged charges of RICO are serious. However; these allegations should be for the governments of St Kitts and Nevis as well as St Lucia to investigate and decide if the evidence is substantive enough to prosecute. The MSR case is civil and the question is do their claimed damages come from the defendants alleged RICO actions, or because of MSR’s own actions due to their history of dissolving film studios and poor decisions? Stay tuned more to come on this.