U.S. Marshals to Collect $50 Million Dollar Debt From Bart Reagor
It’s time for Bart Reagor of the disgraced Reagor-Dykes Auto Group to pay up, or at least that’s what a federal district court in Lubbock has determined.
According to news reports, Bart Reagor owes Ford Motor Credit just over $49 million dollars with a 1.55 percent interest rate, which comes to about $703,000.
The Reagor-Dykes Auto Group was first sued by Ford in August 2018. Two years of litigation revealed a massive financial fraud scheme perpetuated by over a dozen Reagor-Dykes employees, including former CFO Shane Smith, who faces up to 20 years in prison and is still waiting to be sentenced.
In March 2020, another employee of the Reagor-Dykes Auto Group pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, joining a list of 13 other employees who had engaged in similar activity that ultimately defrauded Ford Motor Credit of over $116 million dollars.
Although Bart Reagor and Rick Dykes were never implicated in the fraud scheme, a court has ruled that both men are responsible for paying back a portion of the money that Ford Motor Credit lost, as both were listed as guarantors on the financing contracts that Reagor-Dykes signed.
KCBD reported on Wednesday, October 28th, that Texas U.S. Marshals have now been authorized by a federal court to collect the near $50 million dollar debt from Bart Reagor.
If Reagor cannot pay the debt outright, then U.S. Marshals have permission to collect and liquidate any and all of Reagor’s non-exempt personal and real property (land and estates). According to Texas law, Reagor’s homestead (primary residence) is exempt from collection because the debt being sought is not federal debt.
Reagor’s business partner, Rick Dykes, agreed to his own settlement with Ford Motor Credit for $58.7 million dollars back in April 2019.