Firearms business targeted for contrived bankruptcy due to controversial signs?

(NaturalNews) "I like my guns like Obama likes his voters: Undocumented."

"Guns are cheap compared to Obamacare and have better coverage."

"We like our guns locked up safe and secure like Obama's birth records."

These are just a few of the messages that have been displayed in recent years by the owners of Tactical Firearms, a Katy, Texas, gun store that has enjoyed no small amount of success.

But now, its owners say the bank which holds the businesses' mortgage, Icon Bank, is set to foreclose, ostensibly because they are in default on their payments. At least, that's the story bank officials have given local media.

Tactical Firearms owners say that simply isn't true -- they are completely up-to-date on their payments, as evidenced in this local Fox affiliate news report.

Rather, the owners believe that they have been intentionally targeted by a former part-owner and a member of the banking board of directors in a despicable plan to put them out of business, for ideological and other reasons.

According to a letter published by the owners on the Tactical Firearms website (see it here), the real reason their loan is being called in is "because the [bank's] board of directors has chosen to not renew" it.

"Deciding to call a loan which has a perfect payment record and is profitable to the bank is almost unheard of in the banking industry," the letter said. "This is why we believe Tactical Firearms is being specifically targeted with punitive actions in an effort to put us out of business."

They said the bank is giving them until July 1.

Anti-trust concerns amid shady competition

The letter continues:

But there's even more to this situation that you need to know:

Back in 2012 Tactical Firearms purchased the land next to our existing facility. Icon Bank suggested an interim loan at 7% interest and then to refinance all of our loans together into one loan at a lower rate of 3.579%. At that time we had a fixed, long term loan for the building and the construction of the range. By purchasing the land, it cross collateralized the loans and put us in a situation (unknown to us at the time) that could threaten our entire business.

When it became time to refinance the loans, one of our owners (30%), Steven Coe Wilson, decided to back out. It is our belief based on what we have since learned that Steven wished to seize control of the company. We have substantial reason to believe he recruited some of our longest and hardest working employees to overbuy, to overspend, and to bury Tactical Firearms in debt to the point that we could not pay our bills. His grand plan appears to have been to swoop in and buy up the loan when the bank foreclosed on us for failure to pay. Perhaps to his disappointment, not only have we successfully paid our loan notes, we have also cut the unpaid bills by over half.

Sadly, because Steven did not sign the loan refinance that he had previously agreed to, the short term loan for the land has now matured. By default, our primary business loan is now in jeopardy.

There's more. The owners say it has been brought to their attention that one of the Icon Bank board members, whom they identified as Mark Evans, "is the owner of a new gun store in the Houston area" (Katy, Texas, is near Houston). They say that, based on what they have learned about this new competitor, "we are convinced that this bank has the [intentions] of forcing Tactical Firearms out of business to remove a major competitor from the market" of Evans' new business, Guns Over Texas.

"If true," the Tactical owners write, "we believe this would constitute unfair trade practices in the State of Texas, and we intend to pursue this matter with the office of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott."

Seeking assistance

Abbott, as an aside, is the leading Republican candidate to replace retiring Gov. Rick Perry.

The letter continues:

Further connections support our accusations of anti-trade practices. For example, Mark Evans is the Managing Partner for Commercial Finance with the firm O'Connor, Craig, Gould & Evans -- the firm that is being used by Icon Bank to proceed with the foreclosure. We strongly protest what appears to be a clear conflict of interest on the part of Mark Evans, who appears to be using his influence at the law firm (and therefore the bank) to engage in destructive, punitive actions with the ultimate aim of destroying his competition and thus ensuring the profitability of his own gun store.

The owners are asking for assistance in their fight to keep their business. For one, they are asking supporters to contact John Green, president and vice chairman of the board at Icon ([email protected]; 281-517-2430). They also ask that supporters contact Mark Evans "and let him know that the community is now heavily scrutinizing his actions." And third, they are asking supporters to "help put out the word that all this could be readily solved if another INVESTOR or LENDER could be identified who would step up to the plate and support this successful business. We are a high-integrity, profitable business with a strong credit history and a perfect record of loan payment."

Sources:

http://tacticalfirearms.us

http://www.myfoxhouston.com

http://www.iconbanktx.com