5 More Charged In Ark. Title Washing/Repossession Fraud Case

PARAGOULD, Ark. — Five more people face felony allegations in the Prestige Towing investigation after Paragould police said they found evidence that vehicle owners worked with the towing company to remove lender liens or collect inflated towing fees.

Shawn Lenderman, Linda Cook, Joshua Perez and Charles Brown are each accused of one count of defrauding a secured creditor in the first degree, a Class D felony. Police are pursuing the allegations under Arkansas’ accomplice law.

Kerry Wooldridge is accused of theft of property valued at more than $5,000 but less than $25,000, a Class C felony.

The allegations involve four vehicles and were detailed in five arrest-warrant affidavits filed in Greene County District Court. Each person had bond set at $25,000, with surety permitted.

Police said the cases emerged from business records and electronic evidence seized during a June 23 search of Prestige Towing. Investigators described the alleged removal of lender liens through fraudulent towing and title documents as “lien washing.”

Lenderman and Cook are accused in connection with a jointly owned 2019 Jeep Cherokee.

Police said the Jeep had a lien before the owner of Prestige Towing allegedly submitted fraudulent paperwork to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. A new title was issued to Lenderman and Cook on April 2 without the lien attached, according to the affidavits.

Messages allegedly showed Lenderman providing information about the Jeep to the towing company’s owner and asking whether they were getting a new license plate.

Cook’s messages reportedly discussed the amount of debt owed on the Jeep and showed the lender attempting to contact them about payment. Police said Cook also asked about obtaining a new plate so the lender could not repossess the Jeep while it was being driven.

Perez is accused in connection with a 2015 Ford F-150.

During the Prestige Towing search, detectives said they found a packet containing a fraudulent tow slip, a tow-notification letter addressed to Perez and a printout of a $100 Cash App transaction from him.

Messages allegedly showed Perez sending the truck’s vehicle identification number, mileage and lender information to the owner of Prestige Towing. Police said he later made a payment and asked how the new title paperwork was progressing.

The towing company’s owner allegedly advised Perez not to put the new title in his own name to avoid potential problems.

DFA investigators later provided police with an email from the lender stating that it still had a financial interest in the truck even though its lien had been removed.

During a July 14 interview, Perez allegedly admitted knowing about the lien and the lender’s intention to repossess the truck. Police said he also admitted paying someone at Prestige Towing to obtain an abandoned-vehicle title.

Brown’s allegation involves a 2016 Dodge Ram he had owned since 2020.

Police said paperwork recovered from Prestige Towing showed the truck had a lien before it was fraudulently towed in November 2024. Investigators also found allegedly fraudulent tow letters addressed to Brown.

A new title dated March 21, 2025, listed Brown and Prestige Towing as the truck’s owners but no longer showed the lien, according to the affidavit. The lender later told DFA that it still had a financial interest in the truck.

Brown allegedly told detectives he could no longer afford the truck payments and left it at the towing company’s lot. He said the truck remained there for two or three months before he bought it at a Prestige Towing auction for less than $5,000 after the lender did not repossess it.

The affidavit states that Brown and the owner of Prestige Towing are in a relationship and live together.

Wooldridge is accused of working with Prestige Towing to collect inflated fees from the lender on his 2019 Dodge Ram.

The truck was facing repossession when Wooldridge and the owner of Prestige Towing allegedly discussed leaving it at the towing company’s lot and determining how many storage days to charge the lender.

Police said Wooldridge proposed doubling the storage period from 52 days to 104 days, initially producing a total of $5,895.

The lender ultimately paid Prestige Towing $7,401.60 to retrieve the truck, according to records provided to detectives.

Wooldridge allegedly admitted coordinating with Prestige Towing to falsify the tow and collect money from the lender. Police said he admitted receiving more than $5,000 and giving the remaining money to the business owner.

The new affidavits are the latest development in the investigation involving Prestige Towing owner Heather Patterson.

Patterson faces 30 counts of second-degree forgery, 27 counts of false evidence of title or registration, one count of theft of property and 89 counts of falsifying a business record. Her bond was set at $100,000 cash or surety.

That case began after a woman reported that Patterson had taken her vehicle from her Paragould home despite the lender saying it had not issued a repossession order. Police said paperwork later submitted to the state falsely described the vehicle as abandoned and recovered from water. Investigators also alleged that an incorrect VIN was used to register it to another person.

Police subsequently identified 89 records allegedly claiming Prestige Towing had performed tows at the request of Greene County Central Dispatch. Investigators said no corresponding dispatch records existed and that Prestige Towing had not been on the countywide tow rotation since January 2023.

DFA Police also identified paperwork involving 27 vehicle titles or registrations that investigators said contained forged documents or false evidence.

Greene County District Judge Curtis Hitt approved the five new arrest warrants and set bond at $25,000 for each person, with surety permitted. The affidavits do not indicate whether every warrant had been served.

The investigation remains ongoing.

All suspects are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.