Texas Attorney General John Cornyn has returned MonetizeMedia's computers, files and bank account, but don't assume that the case is closed. There's still an investigation being conducted by the Department of Justice as well as a civil lawsuit filed by company officials against the AG's office for
violating their civil rights.
"Yes, we had our equipment and computers returned," said MonetizeMedia spokesman Don Beavers.
"We are very happy about that, but are extremely sad about the damage the Attorney General's investigation did to our business."
According to Beavers, the AG's investigation has nearly destroyed a once-thriving business on the eve of its IPO. Among the damages, he explained, were the loss of computers and any funds to replace the seized items, which forced the company to lay of all 18 employees, and cost the company most of its customers. In addition, a public offering that had been scheduled for October had to be forgotten, costing stockholders untold money. Finally, to pay for overhead and legal fees, Beavers added, "we had to sell off parts of our network, including the very gaming directory and link pages that caused the problems."
After suffering such damaging blows, Monetize has sought payback by filing a civil suit against the Attorney General's office for violating the rights of Monetize officials. The investigation was based upon a faulty search warrant, explained attorney Cathy Herasimchuk who is representing the company in its battle against the powerful Texas Attorney General. The search warrant, Herasimchuk asserted, was full of mistakes and fabrications.
Further, Herasimchuk maintains that the AG's office knows it doesn't have a case. "The Attorney's General office in Texas has no prosecutor authority," Herasimchuk explained, "and they couldn't get anyone to prosecute Monetize for them."
As a result, the office was forced to call in the Department of Justice for assistance, which has filed a subpoena with the grand jury to learn more about the issue. MonetizeMedia officials are cooperating with the DOJ investigation, Beavers said.
While Monetize officials suggest that the case was referred to the DOJ because the AG's case was
bad, prominent gaming attorney Anthony Cabot pointed out that it could be politics--that perhaps local prosecutors are from a different political party or have a number of legitimate reasons for refusing to
prosecute the case.
Then again, Cabot added, it could be that the Attorney General doesn't want to admit that its case against MonetizeMedia is bad.
Click here to read MonetizeMedia's civil lawsuit.
Click here to read the Motion to Return Property.