Borrower defends business loans

CAMDEN — Kristian Nelson, the defendant in a lawsuit alleging he defrauded a Little Rock man out of millions of dollars, used some of that money to establish a business in Camden, according to statements Nelson made in a recent deposition.

In August 2020, the Camden News reported that an 89-year-old Little Rock man, Richard Toll, is suing Kristian D. Nelson, a businessman associated with Hawgz Blues Cafe, which has locations in Little Rock and North Little Rock, alleging that Nelson defrauded him of $4.5 million over several years.

The lawsuit alleges that from September 2017 through June 2020, Nelson acquired loans from Toll, ostensibly to help his businesses. Toll first loaned Nelson $10,000, according to court documents. Nelson said he needed the money to cover checks written for expenses at Hawgz Blues Cafe’s Little Rock location, which he said he owned.

Camden Mayor Julian Lott posted in June on Facebook that Hawgz Blues Cafe, as well as a car dealership called I Sell 4 U Auto, would be locating in Camden soon; the post was accompanied by two photos showing Lott and Nelson together at the Hawgz Blues Cafe location in North Little Rock.

In a deposition recorded in September 2020, lawyers questioned Nelson about his activities.

Nelson said in the deposition that he didn’t remember the date he opened in Camden, nor did he remember who owned the property.

“Q. You don’t remember who owns the property in Camden where you’re operating a car dealership?

A. It was a piece of paper I know,” the deposition reads.

Nelson said during the deposition he was leasing a property at 1585 California Ave. in Camden for an auto-parts retail business. He said some of the money from Toll was used to to buy the auto parts for sale there. The address 1585 is listed as the The Elements Apartments.

Nelson stated he could not remember answers to questions asked of him and exercised his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to several questions during the deposition.

Information for this article was contributed by Caitlan Butler.