Don Hankey made a fortune building a subprime auto loan empire. Along the way, his companies racked up consumer complaints, regulatory fines and were sued by the DOJ.

Providing Donald Trump’s $175 million appeal bond when other insurers wouldn’t is business as usual for California financier Don Hankey. As chairman of the Los Angeles-based Hankey Group of Companies, which includes an insurer, a subprime auto lender and a commercial real estate investment firm, Hankey has amassed a fortune lending to borrowers other financial firms shun.

Hankey’s assistance to Trump has brought the little-known billionaire into the spotlight. But in recent years, several of his companies’ operations attracted the attention of the U.S. Justice Department, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the California Department of Insurance. Since 2015, regulators have taken action against Hankey’s companies four times, public records show.

In 2017, for example, the Department of Justice filed a complaint in federal court in California against Westlake Financial, Hankey’s big subprime auto lender. With a network of 50,000 car dealerships and $3 billion in managed assets, Westlake Financial calls itself “The Yes! Yes! Lender.”

  • Neato@ttrpg.network
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    7 months ago

    This sounds like quid pro quo. He loans Trump the money to appeal and if Trump becomes President he makes all the court cases go away and get Mr. Hankey’s regulators to give up.

    • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      This isn’t a loan. It’s more like insurance.

      A surety company promises to pay the bond if the defendant loses. So the financial status of the company is very important, and that’s why this bond is raising eyebrows.

  • JesusSon@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    As the old folk used to say “Birds of a feather all shit down our backs together.”

    • frustrated_phagocytosis@fedia.io
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      7 months ago

      They will if he gets elected, impedes the system by firing anyone with a clue, and shuffles federal money to them without recourse because presidential immunity

      • EdibleFriend@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        2 weeks tops before Trump is swearing up and down he paid the money himself out of his own pocket and his base believes every word of it.

        • azimir@lemmy.ml
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          7 months ago

          He already did. They were posting all over the place about how he “paid in cash!!!”. That’s the message he put out the same day the bond was put up.

    • m-p{3}@lemmy.ca
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      7 months ago

      With the same reasoning some people use not to pay their graphics designer, when they’re too naive to trust their clients and won’t ask for a percentage of the payment upfront: but think of the exposure you’re getting! That is worth something, no?!

        • cogman@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Mike pillows didn’t really come into prominence until after Trump lost his election.

          Trump’s first term in office had a bunch of donors packed into cabinet positions.

  • bradorsomething@ttrpg.network
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    7 months ago

    I know people like trump, and people like trump don’t make you money. People like trump provide you cover to make money while you break rules, and they get a slice.

  • baru@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Seems that there are some issues with the bond. See https://youtu.be/_ATmnBSwYyU

    Meaning, apparently the company can only vouch for a bond that’s up to 10% of its assets. The company isn’t big enough to vouch for this bond. In the financials they added another company to pretend they’re big enough, but that company isn’t legally involved with the bond. So pretty dishonest at best to add an unrelated company.

    Yet another twist.

  • frustrated_phagocytosis@fedia.io
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    7 months ago

    So he’s been weaving these court cases into his campaigning, how is this not running afoul of FEC rules? Surely a massive bond with a court case that’s elicited by the candidate would fall under potential bribery?

  • Gingerlegs@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Can’t wait for the rambling trump speak post that hes getting debt collector calls 7 times a day and he’s pissed

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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    7 months ago

    So now the possible Cheeto in chief will be controlled by puta Putin and Mr Hanley the Christmas poo?

    Awesome, nothing to see here!

  • blazera@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    he didnt put up as much of the bond as new york appeals court judges did