LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Bart Reagor’s request for acquittal or new trial on his conviction for false statement to a bank has been officially denied by a judge.
According to court documents filed Thursday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk found exhibits and testimony presented, “are sufficient evidence for a rational jury” to conclude Reagor was guilty of making a false statement to the International Bank of Commerce regarding more than $1.7 million in “owner distributions” from a $10 million working capital loan, intended for Reagor-Dykes Auto Group.
In the October trial, a jury found Reagor not guilty on two counts of bank fraud, but guilty on one count of false statement to a bank.
On December 13, Reagor’s defense submitted a motion to acquit the false statement charge or be granted a new trial, on the claim that prosecutors failed to define the term “working capital,” as it relates to Reagor’s case.
The defense argued the loan agreement between RDAG and IBC did not define the term “working capital” or what it could or could not be used for; so Reagor could not have made a false statement about “working capital” because he didn’t know the statement was false when he made it.
“Defendant’s argument fails because there was sufficient evidence for a rational jury to find that the Government met its burden of proving the elements of false statement to a bank beyond reasonable doubt,” new court documents stated.
The latest document from Judge Kacsmaryk denying Reagor’s motion cites similar evidence referenced by both defense attorneys and federal prosecutors, specifically an email from Reagor to RDAG CFO Shane Smith and co-owner Rick Dykes, “expressly stating ‘confidential’ instructions for the diversion of loan proceeds.”
The Judge also cited trial testimony from International Bank of Commerce President and CEO Bill Schonacher, saying he would not have approved the loan if Reagor had told him in April of 2017 of his intention to distribute part of the loan. RDAG Legal Compliance Director Steven Reinhart also testified in trial that had he known Reagor’s intentions, he would have told him he couldn’t move proceeds from the loan to personal accounts.
FBI Special Agent John Whitworth’s testimony was also cited, saying in trial $1.7 million from the IBC loan was diverted to Reagor’s personal accounts and used to pay for renovations to Reagor’s “mansion… on 19th Street.” In trial, a recording was presented into evidence of Reagor stating his displays of wealth, including planes and his mansion, made him “a bad motherf—–er.”
“The above-cited exhibits and testimony are sufficient evidence for a rational jury to conclude that Defendant was guilty of making a false statement to a federally-insured bank beyond a reasonable doubt,” Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling reads.
Reagor awaits the sentencing hearing for his conviction, which was extended this week to March 10, 2022.
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