Anthony Kline Bridgehampton Funding issued a fradulent Loan Commitment Letter and collected a Refundable Underwriting Fee of $2,500; which, was never returned after the loan failed to close. Ronkonkoma New York

ANTHONY KLINE/BRIDGEHAMPTON FUNDING FRAUD ALERT

The Promise:

On Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 11:41 AM, I received the following, unsolicited, text message from Anthony Kline; who, at that time, was the Managing Director of Bridgehampton Funding, located at 145 E. Sunrise Highway Suite 5, in Lindenhurst NY 11757:

“Hey Tom, its Anthony Kline, I have investor on line give me a buzz when you can” 

NOTE:  After reading the message, I immediately recognized Mr. Kline as the person who approached me in November of 2016; but, after receiving a financial package on my company, he was unsuccessful in finding a lender to consolidate my company’s debt.  

After confirming Anthony’s identity, I responded to his message by saying: 

“In a meeting till 3 PM”

Later that day, at 3:19 PM, Mr. Kline sent another text message, which read:

“Leaving office for day, my investor is ready to roll if we can confirm balances, try to call me after your meeting”

At 5:50 PM, Mr. Kline sent a third message; which read: 

“Went over what we discussed with investor – all set, email me your accounts info will get it over to her in the AM first thing”

“Question how quick do you need to close”

I responded by saying:

“Ok….I should be able to respond a bit earlier than I thought.  I’ll be in touch later today”

He ended that day’s exchange, by saying:

“Ok want to get you offer letter today, they are ready to roll and willing to expedite for me”

The next day, Friday October 13th, I sent Mr. Kline the information he requested, which he acknowledged receiving by sending me the following message:

“Ok I’m forwarding to investor now and calling them. Stand-by”

He concluded the exchange by saying:

 “I’ll have a new LOI between tonight and tomorrow – what time can I call you in the morning”

On Saturday, October 14th and Sunday, October 15th Mr. Kline and I had several conversations by phone and text, confirming that he had prepared and sent a Letter of Intent to me, by email. 

One of his messages on Sunday read: 

“Sent sir, I’m available all day on cell with any questions.  We are shooting to close by Friday”

On Monday, October 16,2017 I read and signed a Conditional Commitment Letter. It showed that Anthony’s company, Bridgehampton Funding, had an investor, who approved a $2.7 Million loan, to consolidate all of my company’s debt, conditioned on the lender’s requirement to verify all unpaid balances on my company’s current debt schedule. The Letter was also conditioned on me paying a $2,500 “Refundable Underwriting Fee” to Bridgehampton Funding, to secure the financing.  

The Reality:

From October 16, 2017, the date I signed the Letter and wired the Underwriting Fee to Mr. Kline, until February 13, 2018, the last day I spoke to him, 124 days elapsed. 

During that period, Anthony and I spoke, texted or emailed each other nearly every day. And, I responded to every request he made for additional documentation; which included prior year tax returns, current financial and bank statements, current debt schedules, proof of identity and payoff letters from my existing lenders.  

What failed to take place during that period was my direct contact with the lender; which, Anthony told me, was a pre-requisite to closing.  Here’s what happened:

Early in the process, calls to the lender needed to be re-scheduled, at the last minute, for various reasons. These ranged from sudden health and family issues, unexpected changes in the day’s events, and extended discussions with other clients.  But, after several calls were missed and re-scheduled, I became more assertive with Anthony; and, I asked for the lender’s direct contact information, which was never given.   Later in the process, a similar set of delays and excuses began to occur whenever the lender proposed a closing date.  

On one occasion, a closing date had to be moved because the lender’s legal department failed to review the loan documents in time to close.  Another closing date was changed, when the lender’s staff, who Mr. Kline said was small and overworked, wasn’t available to review the loan documents with me and answer questions over the phone.     

So, after missing multiple lender calls and two closing dates, I decided that Mr. Kline was not being completely truthful with me. So, I asked him whether the lender (a private equity fund managed by Danielle Edwards) was real; and, whether my company had actually been approved for a loan; to which, he offered no reply to either question.   At that point, I was left with no other option but to ask him to return the $2,500 fee I paid him, which he agreed to do. 

But, when he did not return the money, he also stopped responding to my phone calls, emails and text messages.

Personal Observation:

Based on my experience, I would strongly encourage anyone who is considering working with this Anthony Kline to find someone else, who is more reputable. 

My purpose is to alert you to the fact that Anthony Kline is a NOT A TRUSTWORTHY MAN; and, because of this, you should not put him in a position where he can rob you of your time and money.

Post Script:

To demonstrate that my company was credit worthy during this period, immediately after terminating my relationship with Anthony Kline, I applied for a $2.6 Million SBA loan through a regional bank. On Friday, March 16, 2018, I received a commitment letter from the bank, in the form of a Term Sheet.  Closing is planned on or before April 30, 2018.