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MARCY MARIE MARLIN IS proving as mischievous and elusive as a poltergeist for officials at Bank of the Ozarks Inc.
Last week, the Little Rock bank holding company held an analyst conference call to discuss a one-time $796,000 charge against the bank's earnings related to a series of bad loans totaling $2.3 million made to Marlin and her company, the Marcy Marlin Co.
The bank's publicly traded stock took an immediate hit of 13 percent, reaching a 52-week low.
Most of the loans made to Marlin were backed by mortgages on 32 pieces of rental property around Little Rock - property that turned out to be worth considerably less than the bank first believed.
Bank of the Ozarks has been able to foreclose on the property, bidding a total of $1,473,900 to reclaim the grab bag of rental units scattered throughout Little Rock and North Little Rock.
But the bank has yet to put its hands on Marlin, who in the past four months has avoided service and the bank's
efforts to track her down in an effort to pursue possible further litigation against her.
"Obviously, we've been unable to locate the borrower, despite diligent efforts to do so," said George Gleason, chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of the Ozarks. "Until we have a chance to locate the borrower and take her deposition and engage in additional discussion with her, there are some questions we can't answer."
Bank of the Ozarks investors and the general public might have even more questions: Who is Marcy Marlin? How did she amass her real estate portfolio? And how did she manage to secure so much questionable debt from a bank that prides itself on being a prudent and conservative lender?
Hard to Get
Marlin can be hard to find. The residential phone number in her name has been disconnected at least since June. Messages left with Marcy Marlin Co. have gone unanswered, and so has an e-mail request for an interview.
But there is evidence she's still in Little Rock. In recent days, various cars including pickup trucks, a custom van and a late-model brown Cadillac have been parked in front of her house at 102 Ridgeway.
She also had recent correspondence with officials at the...