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.
Two of the remaining banks in the serial loan controversies of Dennis Smiley Jr. hold judgments against the former Arvest executive.
First State Bank of De Queen obtained a $666,077 judgment against Smiley. The amount represents the single largest claim in connection with his alleged loan fraud scheme.
No criminal charges have been filed against Smiley, whose father is chairman of First State Bank.
Dennis Smiley Sr. was drawn into his son’s legal problems when loan documents bearing his disputed signature began surfacing in Benton County Circuit Court filings last year.
Signature Bank of Fayetteville obtained a $198,628 judgment against Dennis Smiley Jr. First State and Signature were excluded from a settlement with Arvest Bank of Fayetteville.
As it stands, First State, Signature and Arvest will battle over $670,462 Arvest deposited in the court registry. The money is from collateral that Smiley overpledged to multiple lenders.
Debts of Dennis Smiley Jr.
Nine lenders with unspecified claims against Dennis Smiley Jr. were among a larger group that reached settlements with his former employer, Arvest Bank:
- BOKF, Tulsa
- Bank of the Ozarks, Little Rock
- Benefit Bank, Fort Smith
- Chambers Bank, Danville
- Centennial Bank, Conway (successor to Jonesboro’s Liberty Bank of Arkansas)
- First Security Bank, Searcy
- Legacy National Bank, Springdale
- Summit Bank, Arkadelphia
- Today’s Bank, Huntsville (formerly First State Bank of Northwest Arkansas)
| Institution | Total Owed | No. of Loans |
| First State Bank, De Queen | $666,077 | 3 |
| *Bank of Fayetteville | $520,884 | 4 |
| Arvest Bank, Fayetteville | $468,058 | 7 |
| *Delta Trust & Bank, Little Rock | $245,126 | 1 |
| Signature Bank, Fayetteville | $198,628 | 2 |
| *First Western Bank, Booneville | $196,359 | 2 |
| *First National Bank, Fort Smith | $196,083 | 2 |
| *First Bank, Hampton | $178,797 | 2 |
| *Integrity First Bank, Mountain Home | $159,781 | 1 |
| *First State Bank, Lonoke | $159,084 | 3 |
| *First State Bank, Russellville | $145,965 | 1 |
| **Community First Bank, Harrison | $118,271 | 3 |
| *Simmons First National Bank, Pine Bluff | $85,973 | 2 |
| *First Federal Bank, Harrison | $70,910 | 2 |
| Total | $3,409,996 | 35 |
*Included in settlement with Arvest Bank.
**Community First wasn’t named in the overarching lawsuit brought by Arvest that listed a string of lenders with potential claims against the Arvest retirement funds of Dennis Smiley Jr. Some Community First loan documents allude to personal guarantees by Smiley’s father, Dennis Smiley Sr., but no personal guarantees were filed of record in its September lawsuit. The elder Smiley has indicated in other litigation that his signature was forged. Community First filed its separate lawsuit against Dennis Smiley Jr.; his wife, Cynthia; and their Design For the Home LLC.
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