Jury Orders Bart Reagor to Pay Ford $53.7 Million

[[TICKET CONNECTION FOR NEWCOMERS:  Reagor-Dykes Auto Group ads, featuring folksy Bart Reagor, a man who never threw a touchdown pass like Tony Romo, but who could get you Any Car U Want, were ubiquitous on The Ticket for quite some time, before his empire went all completely to hell over the course of a few days in the summer of 2018.]]

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A Lubbock jury has found Bart Reagor personally liable to pay Ford Credit $53.7 million and change.

Bart Reagor, Radio Advertising Pioneer

This was not a finding that ol' Bart personally committed any fraud.  The chief culprit here is Reagor-Dykes's Chief Financial Officer at the time, Shane Andrew Smith.   Smith kited checks between multiple banks, and got Ford Credit loans for Reagor-Dykes based on dummy VIN numbers for cars not at the dealership, then used the cash to cover other expenses.  He could get up to 20 years in jail; I haven't been able to find any information on whether he has been sentenced.  Four of his staff have also pleaded guilty and taken deals.

Shane Andrew Smith, Fraudster

Ol' Bart was not criminally charged, but was he aware?  We're talking about nine-figure liability (totaling up other claims) here.  When Ford Credit swooped in and audited the dealerships, Bart claimed this was the first he'd heard of it.  Reagor-Dykes fired Smith and referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney.  Was ol' Bart covering his ass, or doing what his lawyers told him he had damned well better do?  He was apparently pretty sure Smith would not implicate him, so maybe he was innocent of the fraud.  He hasn't been charged but has taken the fifth amendment under some questioning.

What he was not innocent of (along with Dykes, who settled earlier with Ford Credit) was signing a personal guaranty of Reagor-Dykes's indebtedness to Ford Credit.  Those things are pretty ironclad;  when the primary debtor (the dealership) doesn't pay, you gotta pay and I mean now and no backtalk, and there's almost nothing available to you as a defense, including that the default is someone else's fault (it frequently is).  In fact, 'ol Bart's argument was that the amount of money Ford claimed was much, much more than its actual losses.

The jury did not agree and awarded Ford every penny it sought.  The court had already ruled that the guaranty was valid -- this trial was more or less about where to put the decimal point.


Ol' Bart probably wishes he hadn't threatened to shoot the Ford Credit auditor who showed up to check his books.  (Ford Credit came back a couple of days later with the Ford corporate security team.)  No, he probably wishes he'd made nice and made a deal with Ford, which (as these things usually go) was probably available to him.   After all, the whole thing was more sordid than just a rogue executive screwing Ford Credit.  Rick Dykes has alleged that one of Smith's direct reports, one Pepper Rickman

Pepper Rickman, Enchantress

was having an affair with a Ford Credit guy. (https://www.kcbd.com/2019/03/21/rick-dykes-reveals-corruption-secrets-affairs-within-rdag-witness-statement/)   He said that Ms. Rickman was tipped off to audits in advance and alerted Smith, who moved things around to enable Reagor-Dykes to stave off the day of reckoning.

But no, ol' Bart got his back up and refused to pay, and now he's going to have a court order telling him yeah, you gotta.  I assume he'll appeal.

I'm thinking:  You know, he probably wasn't as nice a guy as he tried to make us think he was in all those ads.  I mean, it's possible.

I'm glad he didn't shoot Tony Romo.

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ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

Reagor-Dykes CFO Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

https://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20190618/former-rdag-cfo-shane-smith-admits-to-federal-wire-fraud-charge

Interestingly, neither Reagor nor Dykes has been indicted, and there is apparently some reason to believe they did not know about the massive fraud scheme.

However, they both personally guaranteed the dealerships'  indebtedness to Ford Credit Co., and a United States district judge has just ordered ol' Bart to pay up his portion of the $110 million indebtedness.  Dykes settled with Ford for around $58 million.

https://www.kcbd.com/2019/05/24/judge-denies-objection-rules-reagor-must-repay-ford-motor-credit/

He and his wife have also been sued on personal guaranties of around $2.5 million by other creditors of the company.


https://www.kcbd.com/2019/03/23/universal-underwriters-sue-bart-reagor-wife-more-than-million/

Culpable or not, this episode has exposed Bart as something other than the warm-and-fuzzy guy who can magically make "any car U want" appear before you.  If anyone were misled on that score.

https://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20181028/transcript-from-reagor-dykes-auto-group-staff-meeting

And I don't know who he's talking to here, but check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0w65vwwKbk

Maybe Tony Romo can lend him a few bucks.

Fred Garvin, Man About Town, on Ticket Advertising

Confessor Fred Garvin, Man About Town, emailed me some thoughts on some themes regular Confessors will find familiar.  I know not everyone is anxious to read more about Ticket advertising on this site, and most of these ads have been dissected here before, but I am very thankful, in this season for being thankful, for contributions from readers.  And Fred has some interesting takes, not all of which I share, but, hey, that's why they make vanilla and Cherry Garcia. 

But I do like the "sci-fi collectibles" line and the Jimmy John's ads featuring Ed.

Okay, okay, I'll try to give advertising commentary a break for awhile, although I may not be able to resist a new post on not-known-as-The-Bulldog Kelly McClure sometime soon.

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I’ve got a few random thoughts on Ticket advertising.

First, do no harm: There are two Ticket sponsors whose advertisements make me want to spend lavishly...on their competitors. First is Meador Dodge Chrysler, etc. (“We simply do it better, at Meador.”) This is the satirical one: Unethical sales guy sticks the customer with exotic, needless up-charges, while the customer complains futilely, sounding vaguely like one of the grown-ups in the Charlie Brown cartoons.

ANNOYING. Not funny. Over-the-top in a way that would make Jim Carrey blush. And played way, way too often.

The second one is Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House. The guy isn’t the problem. Gina Cook is the problem. (Don’t throw shoes. I know that some people like her, but she’s nails on the chalkboard for me.) And the problem is her barely contained giddiness at how funny she thinks she’s being. Each commercial, she’s on the verge of “breaking,” as they say in show biz. Breaking is normally fun for the audience, because we’re laughing, and we get a kick out of watching the talent try not to laugh, too. But it’s less fun when we’re not laughing, and instead are wondering, “Why does Gina think this is so funny?” (Side note: Gina doesn’t have the vocal timbre to say, “Crab claws...yeah!” at 75% of her maximum volume. My recommendation: Let the dude say it, or drop the line altogether.)

Now please don’t get me wrong: I love humor in advertising. I’ve found the Jimmy John’s spots (fast delivery, fast talking) amusing. And there’s the one ad with the line, “Please don’t handle the sci-fi collectibles.” But those ads are smart and know their audience. The Meador and Del Frisco ads are pedestrian and tone-deaf. Revise and resubmit, please. 

Bart Reagor, are you okay? We haven’t heard from this guy in a while, and it’s got me wondering if he decided to take a mental health break in the country. ‘Cuz those ads he was doing a while back were getting downright weird. There was this bit: “You like the Internet? Remember when we didn’t have that? Remember when we would just stare at our computer screens and wish the Internet would be invented? And then it got invented, and we all liked it? Do you remember that?” And how about the stuff where he sounds like he’s trying to talk his girlfriend out of dumping him: “I’m one of the best guys you’ll ever meet. Give me a chance. Don’t be a hater...” I sometimes wonder how many of these spots are cut with Bart speaking directly into the mirror.

Learning from your mistakes. Occasionally, I wake up in the middle of the night, screaming, thinking about that first Kelly McClure “bulldog” spot. Wow, was that bad. I did the math once, and she said the word “aggressive” 2.4 times per second in that thing. She also invited you to check out her pics online (which of course I did, purely for medicinal purposes, and while she’s lovely, the “hire me b/c I’m hot” pitch is kind of insulting). The whole campaign was in your face like whipped cream at a pie-eating contest. It also reinforced a lot of ugly stereotypes about lawyers.

Thankfully, Ms. McClure has toned things way down. I like the softer Kelly.

All I can say is, well done. Good things happen when you’re not too proud to learn.

This is Very Disturbing

Some topics for a holiday weekend:

(1)  Cover Story.  After five years, I hope I have earned the trust, respect, and affection of the Confessor.  Oh, there are those who loathe the site and me, and why they keep returning to disturb our merry discourse I will never know.  (See item 5, below.)  But in general, I sustain myself with the thought that on the Big Subjects, the Confessor and I would manage to find some common ground.

Bart's cars salute as he passes.

 But now, I'm not so sure.

I'm becoming intrigued with those Reagor-Dykes ads.

The ones that start with the high-production-value brassy fanfare and an actual radio voice-for-hire booming in sparkling hi-fidelity:  "REAGOR DYKES AUTO GROUP -- KEEPING IT REAL."  (May not have the wording entirely right -- next time I hear it I'll make a note and come back and correct.)  Followed, however, by the same phoned-in-from-Arcturus spiel from Bart himself, demonstrating the ways in which he keeps the car-buying experience real.

I confess (of course) that this calls my judgment on other matters into some question.

But I find myself kind of getting sucked in to the aw-shucks sincerity.  I find ol' Bart's persona likable.

And anyone who will spring for the high-quality intro but won't take the time or spend the money to get himself into a studio to cut a decent-sounding spot -- there's just something quirky about that that sort of draws me in to Bart's World.

Don't know that I'd buy a car from the guy.

But I'd let him give me a lecture about leasing.

(2)  Gushing.   More ad weirdness:  Those oil-well investment ads.

In the first place, what a terrible time to run an ad talking about ever-rising oil prices, at a time when the world is absolutely awash in petroleum and natural gas (hilariously contrary to the decades of predictions we've heard from the "limits to growth" crowd) and prices are plummeting and are likely to stay low for the foreseeable future.   Unless they're giving shares away, probably a poor time to invest.

In the second place, oil-well investment, like precious metals and other natural-resource investments, are home to some of the most virulent scams out there.  I don't expect The Ticket to investigate the claims of all of its advertisers, but if you are among the numerous very wealthy P1's thinking of making an investment (they usually require some minimum investment, typically but not always in the mid-five or low-six figures), please make your first call to the Texas State Securities Board to see if the investment is registered.  If it is not, find out from the investment company why it believes it is exempt from registration, and have them cite the statute or regulation upon which they are relying.  Don't invest without reviewing a complete prospectus.

In the third place, oil production revenue and taxation are hugely complex topics, and investors at your level do not take dollars off the top.   I'm not going to get into working v. carried interest, depletion, direct participation, and so forth.  If you have the dough to invest, spend an extra few grand and engage a reputable oil and gas lawyer to advise you.

Finally, don't do it.

(3)   T.C. Isn't Going Anywhere Anytime Soon.    Okay, okay, he may not be the favorite of The Confessor.   I get the criticism, but it really does seem overblown among the commentariat.  (I do not delete T.C. criticism unless it is scurrilous, overly personal, or violent.)

But someone out there likes him.

Or maybe his rates are attractive, because he's now doing advertised promotional appearances.  Sponsors have judged that he's a draw, that he'll bring people into their establishment to meet the increasingly famous Source Ragonk, and if sponsors think that, then Jeff C is probably prescient in having taken him back on.

Doesn't mean he's great -- just means he's appealing to certain sponsors.   And I'm guessing if you went to one of his appearances you'd see lots of folks shaking his hand, getting their pictures with him, collecting an autograph, and telling him to keep up the good work with The Ticket and IJB and ragonking the absolute bejeebers out of him.

And that, if nothing else, will keep him popping on.

(4)  Jake.  Sorry.  Still think the guy has got a lot and sounds good on The Ticket.

His sports talk is no worse, and, I think, better than that some of the hosts.  Wrong about everything?  Oh?  Well, if I'm recalling correctly, he was the only Ticket person who thought the Cowboys were going to be improved this year.

Yes, his voice has a Dylan-The-Argumentative-Teen lilt to it.  And I do count myself among those who wish to hear less socio-political-current-events commentary from him, but I wish the same thing about every other talker on The Ticket.   He's smart, he can be funny, he's knowledgeable.  Smarty-smug sometimes, sure.  But jeez, it's just not going to bring down the station like some seem to think.  If he proves to be a fixture on a daily show in the future, I can absolutely deal with that.

(5)  Moderation Report.   Every time I get to a screen I check the pending comments, so hope that hasn't slowed things down too much.  Certainly hasn't slowed the hits to the site, and I hope we can all agree that the conversation has returned to its historical lofty level. 

Just to be fair, let me report that some readers, or maybe only one or two, believe that I am an idiot and a bitch.  And some are unaccountably convinced that I have been doing this so I can be good chums with Ticket guys.  If so, then I am indeed an idiot, if not a bitch, because after close to 700 posts now, I have yet to meet or speak to a single Ticket employee or former employee.

Uh, Rudolph, I've got some bad news for you.

Some of the posts I get are actually amusing in their apparent lack of clarity on the concept of moderation:  profane, furious, violent, and one or two with factual assertions that are demonstrably false.  But all of them still seem to think that someone other than me is going to be reading them.  Their words live on the screen for about 1.7 seconds, most of those words probably unread by me, and they're gone.  What satisfaction there is in this effort on the other end, I have no idea.

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Thanks for doing your Christmas shopping at My Ticket Confession, everybody, and have a Holly Jolly Ticket.

ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310