San Antonio physician Dr. Ellen Lin says a half-million-dollar investment tied to surgical hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers went sideways, and she is now asking a court to help her get every penny back.
Lin filed a complaint on March 19 in state district court seeking to recover the full $500,000 principal she says she committed in 2021. The suit claims that the hefty returns she was promised never showed up and that investor money was funneled into other purposes instead.
The lawsuit names a mix of individuals and companies, including Ben Brunton and Eric King, co-owners of local exotic-car dealer Prestige Motorsports, and Jordan Fowler, CEO of Plano-based Legent Health, along with several Trinity River partnerships and holding companies. Lin says she retained attorneys Ernest Valdez and Dinah Gaines to investigate and pursue the claim and that the defendants have not yet been served. In a text message published in the paper, King denied Lin’s allegations and wrote, “I look forward to my day in court,” as reported by the San Antonio Express-News.
Business ties behind the complaint
Fowler is tied to PSN Affiliates/Legent Health, a platform that has partnered with physicians on mobile office buildings and ambulatory surgery centers, according to industry coverage by Becker's ASC. Brunton and King operate Prestige Motorsports, a San Antonio luxury-car dealership and members' club that lists both men among its owners. A 2023 release from Remedy Medical Properties also references Medical Facilities Holdings as a local partner on a MOB/ASC project, a connection Lin’s complaint says overlaps with properties investors were told the partnership would control.
What Lin says the records show
According to the complaint, Lin signed a subscription agreement and a limited-partnership agreement with Trinity River Partners I LP in 2021 and was promised a “preferred return of 20% per annum compounded.” She says she later learned the defendants had vacated their San Antonio office at 8435 Wurzbach Road and had closed one surgical center. Lin further alleges a 2024 tax form showed an unexplained $301,550 loss on her $500,000, that she was later told she would get back 7% to 15%, and that a dissolution notice valued her share at only $8,083.14, about 1.6% of her investment, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News.
Legal angle
Lin's complaint lists causes of action including fraud, fraudulent inducement, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract, claims that can support civil recovery even when offerings are structured as private placements. Federal guidance states that misconduct and fraud in unregistered offerings can lead to enforcement actions and civil remedies for investors, including rescission, per the SEC. The Texas State Securities Board also routinely works with local prosecutors on complex investment-fraud cases, according to the Texas District & County Attorneys Association.
The suit is pending in state district court. Because the defendants have not been served, it is not yet clear when the case will move forward on the merits. Lin is seeking to recover her $500,000 and related damages, and the filing leaves open whether regulators or other investors will pursue parallel inquiries.
