Arvest Bank Files Interpleader Lawsuit Against Smiley, 19 Creditors

Arvest Bank of Fayetteville has filed an “interpleader” action in Benton County Circuit Court, hoping to clear itself of any financial liabilities tied to the alleged multi-million dollar loan scam perpetuated by former Arvest Benton County president and CEO Dennis Smiley.

An interpleader action allows the stakeholder, in this case Arvest, to turn a dispute over to a court and to be dismissed from any legal action.

It is designed to eliminate multiple lawsuits over the same stake and to protect the stakeholder from actual or potential multiple liability.

According to the civil procedure, filed Wednesday in Bentonville, Arvest is asking the court to allow it to deposit $551,000 into a trust account so it can be divvied up among 19 creditors, thereby releasing the bank of any financial liabilities tied to Smiley’s alleged loan fraud.

The amount, according to the filing, is equal to the Arvest stock that Smiley allegedly used as collateral to obtain several loans.

The 19 creditors named in the filing are:

* BOKF NA of Tulsa

* The Bank of Fayetteville

* Bank of the Ozarks of Little Rock

* Benefit Bank of Fort Smith

* Chambers Bank of Danville

* Centennial Bank of Conway

* Delta Trust & Bank of Parkdale

* First Bank of Hampton

* First Federal Bank of Harrison

* First National Bank of Fort Smith

* Integrity First Bank NA of Mountain Home

* First Security Bank of Searcy

* First State Bank of Lonoke

* First State Bank of De Queen

* First State Bank of Northwest Arkansas of Huntsville

* First State Bank of Russellville

* First Western Bank of Booneville

* Legacy National Bank of Springdale

* Summit Bank of Arkadelphia

Wednesday’s filing is the latest event to follow Smiley’s abrupt resignation March 13, ending his 25-year association with the largest and oldest bank in Arkansas.

On Wednesday, the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal reported that Smiley, his father, Dennis Smiley Sr. of De Queen, and an entity controlled by Dennis Smiley, HDS Holdings LLC, are being sued for $245,000 by Delta Trust & Bank in Little Rock. The complaint was filed March 25 in Benton County Circuit Court.

Also on Wednesday, a report published by Little Rock-based ArkansasBusiness.com cited anonymous sources saying Smiley is under federal criminal investigation for loan fraud

Smiley was named in April 2012 as the local bank president and CEO of Arvest Benton County, the largest of the lender’s 16 locally managed markets. He was appointed to that job in April 2012 following the retirement of David Short.

Smiley joined Arvest in 1989 as a commercial loan officer in Fayetteville, and by the time he ascended to the top of the Benton County market, had more than a decade of experience as CEO of the Arvest Springdale market.

Attempts to contact Smiley have been unsuccessful.