Prominent local businessman arrested in Austin, accused of arson
FEB 29, 2024 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: MAR 2, 2024
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A prominent Austin businessman and founder of Continental Automotive Group, or CAG, was arrested Thursday on charges of Felony Arson and a State Jail Felony offense of Burglary.
Dorsey Bryan Hardeman, 75, is accused of starting a fire at a downtown Austin building on Sunday, according to an arrest affidavit.
According to Travis County court records, Trey Collins with the Minton, Bassett, Flores & Carsey firm has been retained as the attorney representing Hardeman.
Sam Bassett told KXAN the office has just begun its work and “it is premature to comment. However, we will provide Mr. Hardeman an appropriate and vigorous defense.”
The affidavit said the Austin Fire Department responded to a building fire at the former Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop on 400 Nueces St. on Feb. 25.
Once the fire was contained, fire investigators determined the incident to be incendiary and found metal shavings on the ground below the door suggesting the door lock had been drilled out, records state.
The affidavit states fire investigators watched video surveillance from the building, which showed an older man entering the building with a red container consistent with a plastic gas tank.
Multiple cameras inside the building show a man pouring liquid from the red container and dropping multiple matches on the ground, the affidavit said.
Records show the man arrived at the location in a white 4-door Mercedez SUV.
Investigators interviewed the owner of Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop who told AFD Hardeman was the owner of the property next door and had previously asked about purchasing the property at 400 Nueces St.
Investigators learned Hardeman was identified as a person of interest in a second arson investigation from an incident that happened five days prior on Feb. 20, documents state.
A witness in the case was provided photographs from the surveillance video who said “with 100% certainty” that the vehicle belonged to Hardeman. Investigators believe the photo showed the same person coming out of the building with a red container.
CAG has six car dealerships in Austin including a Mercedes-Benz dealership, as well as two dealerships in San Juan and one in Dallas, according to its website.
According to Travis County jail records, personal bonds have been set at $40,000 for the Arson charge and $10,000 for the burglary charge.
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Justin Bayne: Hardeman Family’s “Fall Guy”
When the Hardeman Family decided to start investing as an active loan purchaser in the Austin real estate market, who did they turn to to serve as the Manager of the LLC’s and to be the front man to hide their shenanigans? Justin Bayne, a 40-year old Austin real estate broker with no investment or real estate lending experience – and no money to invest.
As the Hardeman Family embarked on their audacious plan to steal properties from Austin real estate investor, Nate Paul, they formed a series of entities to shield their identity. The only name that has EVER appeared in public records is a tenant rep office broker named Justin Bayne. This was an odd situation as Justin Bayne was not known in the market as an investor, lender, or debt expert. He is known instead as your quintessential broker living off commissions. According to a former coworker of Bayne’s, the only thing firmly on Bayne’s calendar was happy hour.
According to Bayne’s bio, “in 2017 he converted his brokerage business to Bayne Commercial in order to focus on his 160-acre multi-use development project, Pearson Ranch, and simultaneously founded his professional coworking concept, FIRMSPACE.” See https://www.deepeddycap.com/our-team
To translate that in to layman terms, he spent the last 4 years on a development project that didn’t get developed and he started a knockoff version of WeWork that didn’t take off. When you have mouths to feed, might as well take on the role of fall guy for the Hardeman scheme in hopes of getting rich quick!
Bayne isn’t alone in his role however. His counsel is none other than his uncle: notorious swindler Mark Riley. Some background on Mark Riley below (yes, we also wonder how he is still allowed to practice law in the state of Texas). He’s a “lawyer” and a “CPA”, and is well known in Houston for the time spent in the courthouse as a serial defendant more so than a practicing lawyer.
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/3122598/mark-r-riley-v-robert-alpert/?
According to sources, Bayne’s involvement stems from his friendship with Bryan Hardeman’s privileged offspring, Will Hardeman. These 2 buddies orchestrated this strategy with Bayne’s crooked uncle and Will’s scumbag father, Bryan Hardeman.
Will Hardeman isn’t known for being the sharpest crayon in the box. Will’s time is spent wanting to be a race car driver or run for Mayor, typical aspirations of a rich kid who has lived off of Daddy’s money and not worked a day in his life.
Justin Bayne is one of the most intriguing characters in this saga. The Hardemans put him out in the front as the Manager of these LLC’s that are committing fraud, and his name is the only one that appears on any signed documents.
After all, every good scam has to have a “fall guy” that takes the fall for the people with the money sitting behind the scenes.
