AMARILLO, Texas — Andrea Kate Phillips appeared in federal court in Amarillo on Tuesday as part of her plea bargain related to Reagor Dykes. Phillips signed a plea agreement in late January for a charge of misprision of a felony.
Phillips admitted in court records that she was an accounting associate in the Reagor Dykes corporate office.
“Phillips routinely falsified the dates that vehicles were sold in order to make [Ford Motor Credit Company] and its auditor believe that such vehicles were not being sold out of trust,” court records said.
Out-of-trust in this case means in a fraudulent way. Reagor Dykes filed for bankruptcy in August 2018 right after Ford accused Reagor Dykes of fraud and default.
Reagor Dykes would make the paperwork look like loan payments were not owed to Ford when in fact they were. Reagor Dykes was also accused of a particular form of bank fraud called check kiting.
Previous court records said Ford lost $115 million on Reagor Dykes. Some of that money was recovered when Ford was allowed to repossess vehicles. Ford settled out of court with Rick Dykes for $58 million. Ford also secured a court judgment against Bart Reagor for nearly $54 million.
Twelve other Reagor Dykes employees previously took plea deals. (See below) The cases have been prosecuted in Amarillo because the Amarillo office of FBI began to investigate even before Reagor Dykes filed for bankruptcy in Lubbock.
Phillips will be sentenced at a later date to no more than three years in federal prison. Misprision of a felony means taking an affirmative act to conceal a crime.
The list of Reagor Dykes employees who took a plea deal, so far, include:
- Elaina Marie Cabral
- Mistry Canady
- Ashley Nicole Dunn
- Brad William Fansler
- Paige Anna Johnston
- Whitney Erin Maldonado
- Sheila Evans Miller
- Andrea Kate Phillips
- Pepper Laray Rickman
- Shane Andrew Smith
- Diana Herrera Urias
- Lindsay Clare Williams
- Sherri Lynn Wood
