The interior of the Patton has teak woodwork and a bathroom with a shower. (Courtesy Wolf Rigs)
A judge has ordered an Englewood company that converts Humvees into campers to pay $630,000 to two investors who say the owner defrauded them.
Reed Gerdes, who drove Humvees in the Army, founded Wolf Rigs in 2020. The company welds aluminum frames on refurbished Humvees to create a $350,000 camper that it calls the Patton. Gerdes said that Wolf Rigs can survive last week’s court judgment.
“It sucks. It was not something that I wanted to have happen but I’m a survivor, I’m not going to let it kill the company,” he said Monday. “I just have to throw my hands up and say, ‘I’m sorry, I did my best and I will do my best and I will make it right.’ I’m not running from it.”
James and Michelle Smith, a married couple in Douglas County, say that they met Gerdes in 2020 through his wife, who worked with Michelle Smith. The four became friends, but the Smiths say now that Gerdes “preyed” on their mutual Christian faith “in order to evoke trust in the relationship” and “referred to their potential partnership as ‘a total God thing.’”
Gerdes said that he was “shocked” when he read the Smiths’ allegation in a lawsuit last month. The Smiths approached him about investing in Wolf Rigs, Gerdes claims, and he advised them to pray before investing, since bankrolling startups can be risky.
Gerdes’ projections for Wolf Rigs were rosy: A $300,000 investment would net the Smiths a 5 percent stake in the company, a $301,000 payout after one year, and $2.2 million over five years, according to court exhibits obtained by BusinessDen. Gerdes said he compiled the figures from data on similar companies and doesn’t think they were “too boisterous.”
Based on those projections and Gerdes’ assurance that Wolf Rigs had six preorders, the Smiths invested $300,000. They also made two $100,000 loans in late 2021 and early 2022.
Reed Gerdes, founder of Wolf Rigs. became familiar with the Humvee as an infantryman in the Army. (Courtesy Wolf Rigs)
After Gerdes missed deadlines to repay the loans in 2022, the Smiths say that they “uncovered various facts that Mr. Gerdes was improperly using company money for personal use,” including $15,000 in company cash for his wife’s car. When they demanded to see Wolf Rigs’ books, they received only “tax returns and a suspiciously sparse balance sheet,” according to them. (Gerdes disputes that there was any financial impropriety at Wolf Rigs.)
On Sept. 5, the Smiths sued Gerdes and Wolf Rigs, accusing them of lying to investors and failing to make any payments to the Smiths, who have given the company $500,000.
“The Smiths were induced into purchasing stock in Wolf Rigs based on unachievable sales goals and repayment periods,” their lawsuit alleged. “The Smiths were then induced into making additional loans to Wolf Rigs that it had no intention of repaying.”
By Oct. 18, Gerdes and Wolf Rigs had not responded to the lawsuit, so the Smiths asked Jefferson County District Court Judge Philip McNulty to enter a default judgment on their behalf. He did so Oct. 19, ordering Gerdes and Wolf Rigs to pay $629,656 to the Smiths.
The Smiths’ lawyers are Austin Baxter and Tom Werge of Werge Law Group in Denver. They and their clients declined to discuss the case or the default judgment.
“Our friendship was strained because the orders haven’t come in fast enough,” Gerdes says now. “I think it has devolved into something it didn’t really need to be ever, but it is what it is and we are where we are. There is a default judgment now. They’ll get their money.”
Gerdes said Wolf Rigs hasn’t turned a profit but could next year. He expects it to succeed.
“That’s the sad thing. They’re jumping the ship probably 12 months too early,” he said of his former friends. “They stood to make a huge amount of money from this whole thing.”
The interior of the Patton has teak woodwork and a bathroom with a shower. (Courtesy Wolf Rigs)
A judge has ordered an Englewood company that converts Humvees into campers to pay $630,000 to two investors who say the owner defrauded them.
Reed Gerdes, who drove Humvees in the Army, founded Wolf Rigs in 2020. The company welds aluminum frames on refurbished Humvees to create a $350,000 camper that it calls the Patton. Gerdes said that Wolf Rigs can survive last week’s court judgment.
“It sucks. It was not something that I wanted to have happen but I’m a survivor, I’m not going to let it kill the company,” he said Monday. “I just have to throw my hands up and say, ‘I’m sorry, I did my best and I will do my best and I will make it right.’ I’m not running from it.”
James and Michelle Smith, a married couple in Douglas County, say that they met Gerdes in 2020 through his wife, who worked with Michelle Smith. The four became friends, but the Smiths say now that Gerdes “preyed” on their mutual Christian faith “in order to evoke trust in the relationship” and “referred to their potential partnership as ‘a total God thing.’”
Gerdes said that he was “shocked” when he read the Smiths’ allegation in a lawsuit last month. The Smiths approached him about investing in Wolf Rigs, Gerdes claims, and he advised them to pray before investing, since bankrolling startups can be risky.
Gerdes’ projections for Wolf Rigs were rosy: A $300,000 investment would net the Smiths a 5 percent stake in the company, a $301,000 payout after one year, and $2.2 million over five years, according to court exhibits obtained by BusinessDen. Gerdes said he compiled the figures from data on similar companies and doesn’t think they were “too boisterous.”
Based on those projections and Gerdes’ assurance that Wolf Rigs had six preorders, the Smiths invested $300,000. They also made two $100,000 loans in late 2021 and early 2022.
Reed Gerdes, founder of Wolf Rigs. became familiar with the Humvee as an infantryman in the Army. (Courtesy Wolf Rigs)
After Gerdes missed deadlines to repay the loans in 2022, the Smiths say that they “uncovered various facts that Mr. Gerdes was improperly using company money for personal use,” including $15,000 in company cash for his wife’s car. When they demanded to see Wolf Rigs’ books, they received only “tax returns and a suspiciously sparse balance sheet,” according to them. (Gerdes disputes that there was any financial impropriety at Wolf Rigs.)
On Sept. 5, the Smiths sued Gerdes and Wolf Rigs, accusing them of lying to investors and failing to make any payments to the Smiths, who have given the company $500,000.
“The Smiths were induced into purchasing stock in Wolf Rigs based on unachievable sales goals and repayment periods,” their lawsuit alleged. “The Smiths were then induced into making additional loans to Wolf Rigs that it had no intention of repaying.”
By Oct. 18, Gerdes and Wolf Rigs had not responded to the lawsuit, so the Smiths asked Jefferson County District Court Judge Philip McNulty to enter a default judgment on their behalf. He did so Oct. 19, ordering Gerdes and Wolf Rigs to pay $629,656 to the Smiths.
The Smiths’ lawyers are Austin Baxter and Tom Werge of Werge Law Group in Denver. They and their clients declined to discuss the case or the default judgment.
“Our friendship was strained because the orders haven’t come in fast enough,” Gerdes says now. “I think it has devolved into something it didn’t really need to be ever, but it is what it is and we are where we are. There is a default judgment now. They’ll get their money.”
Gerdes said Wolf Rigs hasn’t turned a profit but could next year. He expects it to succeed.
“That’s the sad thing. They’re jumping the ship probably 12 months too early,” he said of his former friends. “They stood to make a huge amount of money from this whole thing.”
