Let's Go, Brandon T Steele: Texas Rancher Banker Lawsuit Bro Woes

[Janice Rael]

San Antonio Express-News:

South Texas ranch owner grapples with financial woes — including over the East Texas bank he owns​

By Patrick Danner, Staff writer - June 28, 2024

South Texas ranch owner and East Texas businessman Brandon T. Steele was an anomaly when he entered the button-down world of banking.

He had no banking background and hadn’t even graduated from college when, at the age of 33 in 2010, he acquired the $220 million-asset American State Bank in Arp.

He did have a wealth of business-world experience, though, from making duffel bags to raising cattle and producing crude oil.

He had big plans to expand American State Bank’s presence in Texas and even cozied up to NFL star Patrick Mahomes, announcing almost two years ago that the Super Bowl champion had become the institution’s second-largest shareholder.

That all seems so long ago now.

Let's Go Brandon T Steele seems to be some sort of George Santos-style poser whose alleged qualifications may be fabrications.

Steele’s business empire is crumbling around him, dogged by lawsuits, multimillion-dollar court judgments, foreclosure threats and bankruptcies — including for the South Texas ranch. And he’s poised to lose control of his majority stake in the bank, which is a shadow of its former self after the sale of most of its branches earlier this year.

“I make no secret that I’ve had financial difficulties over the last several years that I’m working through,” Steele admitted May 29 on the witness stand in a San Antonio courtroom for a hearing in the ranch’s bankruptcy case.

awwww, poor little rich man. By the way, there are a handful of cases involving a Let's Go Brandon and a Texas lawsuit, but, click here for Texas Capital Bank vs Brandon T Steele et al. and this is a related bankruptcy document.

The case was just updated an hour ago on the first link/site. Could have been documents, idk, IANAL.

I used to love ... sigh,

Anyway, regarding the Texas Capital Bank part of the story:

Last month, the Houston law firm representing him in a case involving more than $30 million in alleged loan defaults with Texas Capital Bank filed a motion to withdraw from the case. The law firm cited “serious financial constraints” for Steele and his Steele Bancshares Inc. — which owns the majority of American State Bank — that have left them “unable to pay past due balances” the firm is owed.

One of the lawyers informed a Texas Capital attorney in April that Steele had even liquidated a retirement account “to pay living expenses.”

Ok, so, Let's Go Brandon T Steele is playing the "verbal bankruptcy" game. I am a player and winner of this game.

In February, the bank filed a notice of the appointment of a substitute trustee, which is generally an indication that a property is headed to foreclosure. Indeed, at the bottom of each of the document’s four pages is this notation: “Brandon T. Steele\Foreclosure — March 2024.” However, no foreclosure has occurred.

Steele, 46, also had been a frequent donor to Republican candidates — including Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Land Commissioner George P. Bush — but the donations ceased after 2018.

According to a February court document filed by an unhappy investor who bought a minority interest in American State Bank, Steele had told Texas Capital Bank “that he has nothing to lose and that he is considering bankruptcy.” He has not filed, though.

Yeah, that's how it works under law. The debtor claims to be bankrupt and to be seeking relief, yet, never files. Every time the creditor gets a reply of "I am going to file for bankruptcy protection," then the creditor has to cease collection activity.

Then, the debtor has to refuse communication for a decade, until the debt goes away, off the credit report. More or less, as many unpaid debts will vanish after seven years. The key is absence of communication and avoiding court.

Let's Go Brandon T Steele is in the legal courts of law. Check out the whole sordid story in the San Antonio Express-News. I only shared a little bit of it.

I had to Google all sorts of animal names, as Let's Go Brandon T Steele is a rancher of rare animals for hunting or food, I didn't verify. I can't throw a rock at his ranch, having enjoyed tasty burgers of so-called exotic meats imported from ranches in Texas at the glass house of a cool burger bar in South Jersey, called House of Brews in Turnersville NJ. Yes, the owner is indeed from Philadelphia, and did decorate the place with 20-hundred TVs and all the Philadelphia team sports gear that a Philly gastropub should have.

ooh, Follow The Money:

STEELE, BRANDON T has given $1,225,252 to 28 different filers spanning 10 years.

Over $1M to Republicans.