Lenders agree to close on 480 acres of federal land in Henderson

Texas developer Chris Milam’s lenders have agreed to close May 13 on 480 acres of Bureau of Land Management desert property in Henderson that he once earmarked for an arena complex, a BLM spokeswoman said Monday.

The closing was moved from Thursday so federal officials could continue their investigation into the transaction.

The lenders are expected to sell the land in hopes of recouping the costs of their loan to Milam and the aborted arena deal. The city has designated the property for arena use so any buyer must either build one or obtain permission from the city for other uses.

The Department of the Interior, which oversees the BLM, asked the inspector general in early February to investigate the transaction because former BLM Director Bob Abbey is a business partner of one of Milam’s consultants in the deal — former BLM official Mike Ford.

In court papers, the city cited a Ford email to Milam that alleged Abbey assured Ford that the BLM land deal would go through without any hitches.

Ford has denied any wrongdoing, and Abbey said he played no part in the land deal while he served as chief of the federal agency.

Abbey and Ford are partners in the Henderson-based land consulting firm, Abbey, Stubbs and Ford, LLC.

Milam’s Texas-based lenders, Rockafellow Investments LLC and II C.B. LLC, have assumed the inside track to close on the BLM land as part of a recent settlement between the city of Henderson and the developer.

In late January, the city sued Milam and four of his consultants, alleging the developer masterminded a land scheme to promise the city an arena for the land while actually plotting to buy the property from the BLM and flip it to home builders.

The creditors loaned $16 million to Milam, who used $10.5 million to make a successful bid to acquire the land for what city officials thought would be a professional stadium-and-arena complex.

On Nov. 28, however, Milam told the city the arena proposal was no longer viable but that he wanted to move ahead to close on the land deal with the BLM.

After city officials discovered Milam was circulating materials promoting the BLM site for homes, they sued the developer on Jan. 28, alleging fraud.

Milam settled with the city this month and agreed to never do business in Henderson.

The settlement also specified that Milam’s lenders would assume control of the BLM land closing.

Though Milam settled about two weeks ago, the case is not over. Two other defendants have refused to settle: public relations specialist Lee Haney and Ford.

Haney and Ford have until Thursday to settle with the city. Henderson officials said if they don’t settle, the city will file an amended motion against both and seek damages.