Dennis Smiley, as a trustee of the Jones Trust of Springdale, participated in the March 2013 groundbreaking ceremony for the Webb Memorial Children Park on the campus of the Center for Nonprofits at St. Mary's in Rogers. Smiley resigned from the trust's board last month.
While Dennis Smiley Jr. awaits indictment or a plea deal on criminal charges, civil litigation continues in an effort to recoup losses from his financial wheeling and dealing.
Best we can tell, there are only four parties active in the various lawsuits.
The list is topped by Arvest Bank of Fayetteville, Smiley’s former employer. Arvest settled with a string of lenders that were burned by Smiley’s alleged serial loan fraud that sometimes involved forged signatures.
Only Signature Bank of Fayetteville, which holds a $198,628 judgment against Smiley, remains in a legal tussle with Arvest. Two Smiley-related defendants still in play are:
• HDS Holdings LLC, which contains Smiley’s 2.8 percent stake in The Shoppes at Har-Ber Lakes in Springdale.
• Design for the Home LLC, the design business of Smiley’s wife, Cynthia.
Smiley, the one-time president and CEO of Arvest’s Benton County operations, defaulted on loans totaling about $4 million with 20 banks.
To secure much of the debt, he repeatedly pledged his Arvest retirement fund, worth about $550,000.
Another Smiley creditor, American Express Centurion Bank of Salt Lake City, earlier this year obtained a $65,000 judgment against him for unpaid credit card debt.
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