Properties auctioned as criminal trial looms
The former owners of a now-defunct vanity publishing house in Mustang are moving closer to potentially being tried on criminal charges that could send them to prison for as long as 35 years.
Richard Tate, the founder of Mustang-based Tate Publishing & Enterprises, and Ryan Tate, the firm's CEO and Richard Tate's son, also are on the brink of losing five Canadian County properties after defaulting on related loans.
Records indicate the five properties were cross-collateralized by various loans the Tates had entered into with BancFirst that total $683,319.15.
After the Tates defaulted on the loans, the bank successfully secured foreclosures on the properties from a judge.
Four of the five properties (one is being held in reserve by the bank) have been appraised for a total value of about $1 million.
The Canadian County Sheriff has set an auction of those properties for 10 a.m. on June 11.
The auctions, which will require minimum bids for each property, will be held in the second floor lobby of the Canadian County Courthouse.
Proceeds from the auctions will be used to pay court and sheriff's costs and costs of the sales, and to retire the bank loans which, including owed interest, now total about $692,000.
Any remaining money raised through the sales would be subject to being distributed to other parties that have secured court judgments against Tate Publishing or against Richard and Ryan Tate.
Those distributions would
be determined by a judge, court documents state.
Preliminary hearing set
As for the criminal trial, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Attorney General's office said that attorneys representing her office and the Tates agreed during a preliminary hearing conference on Wednesday to set a formal preliminary hearing for 9 a.m. on Aug. 29 before Special Judge Jack McCurdy.
At that hearing, the judge will hear arguments before ruling whether or not there's enough evidence to take the case to trial, the spokesperson said. Each man, who was arrested a year ago this month, faces four felony embezzlement charges, a misdemeanor embezzlement charge, and three felony attempted extortion by threat charges. Each also faces a felony racketeering charge.
The charges are based on accusations that stem from investigations the Oklahoma Attorney General's consumer protection unit launched on behalf of eight consumers who had filed complaints against the men and their company. The consumers complained they hadn't received the services they had paid for as part of their agreements with Tate Publishing & Enterprises.
The attorney general filed the charges when the Tates announced a plan to restart their business after closing the operation months earlier.
The criminal case also follows other civil suits that were litigated by vendors
that had provided Tate Publishing & Enterprises with printers and with printing services.
Those vendors also won judgments totaling millions of dollars against the closed company and the Tates. Over the years, numerous former clients also have filed civil suits against the company and its top executives.
At least 1,875 former Tate Publishing & Enterprises customers have filed complaints with the attorney general's consumer protection unit. A current number couldn't be obtained Wednesday, but the spokesperson said that number has grown.
If found guilty on all charges, each defendant could face up to 35 years in prison and fines of about $21,000, the spokesperson said.