November 17, 2020—Phoenix, Arizona—On Monday November 14, 2022, after a 13-day trial, a jury awarded Todd Borowsky damages of $18,791,000 in the case against pawn broker and hard money lender Mark Brooks, his business partner Robert Johnson, and his ex-girlfriend, Mackenzie Pate. The case was tried before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dewain Fox, entitled Borowsky v. Brooks, Case No. CV 2018-0015307.
The lawsuit arose out of defendants’ theft of Borowsky’s vehicles, which they attempted to pass off to Phoenix Police as a legal repossession, for three cars that Borowsky had pledged as collateral to Brooks. Borowsky was wrongfully imprisoned based on defendants’ false statements to police and prosecutors. Borowsky was attacked and permanently injured while falsely imprisoned. After police, prosecutors, and the judge in the criminal proceedings learned that defendants had lied, all criminal charges against Borowsky were dismissed.
Borowsky prevailed on each of his causes of action including wrongful repossession, breach of peace, forged repossession affidavits, commercially unreasonable sale, conversion, civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting tortious conduct, breach of contract, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, trespass, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and malicious prosecution. The jury also found Brooks liable for Civil RICO and determined Brooks had committed the predicate criminal acts of scheme or artifice to defraud, illegal control of an enterprise, theft, money laundering, forgery and trafficking in stolen property.
Dennis Wilenchik stated that the jury understood, the minute the text messages were revealed, that Todd had been set up. “This is a great victory and a lesson for anyone who tries to take advantage of their position as a lender, that your actions have grave consequences.”
The jury awarded $6,216,000 in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages against Brooks; $4,875,000 in compensatory damages and $2.5 million in punitive damages against Johnson; and $200,000 in compensatory damages against Pate.
Borowsky was represented at trial by lead attorney Dennis Wilenchik, McKay Worthington, Davis Bauer, Sara Tulane, and paralegal Victoria Stevens, all of Wilenchik & Bartness, P.C.