Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Lawsuit: The Million Dollar Stiff

Lawsuits and judgements against The Vault and its owner, Jerry Pass.  A Rankin County couple accused Pass of stiffing them on a short-term million dollar loan last year.  Situated in the Fondren, The Vault sells collectible classic cars, often on consignment.  


Jerry Pass at The Vault. Credit: TheVaultMs.com

Timothy and Michele Fant sued J.D. Pass and The Vault in Rankin County Circuit Court on June 24.  The complaint states the defendants borrowed $1 million from the Fants on March 25, 2025.  

The agreement stated Pass and his company would repay the loan within 120 days along with a $100,000 loan fee.   The loan could be extended for another thirty days upon request. 

The complaint claims the defendants would use the loan proceeds to purchase automobiles. 

Pass responded to the complaint Monday..  The answer makes the standard denials and defenses: The plaintiff failed to mitigate his loss, all allegations are denied or do not contain enough information to state a claim, and plaintiff has unclean hands. 

Attorney Michael Cory represents the plaintiffs while Michael Heilman represents the defendants.  The case is assigned to Rankin County Circuit Judge Bradley Mills. However,  Pass is facing more creditor problems. 



Tony Gullo Motors of Conroe County, Texas enrolled a judgment against Pass, The Vault, and Pass's Company Sonicbidder.com in Hinds County Circuit Court on June 22.  



Pass and his company face two more lawsuits in Rankin and Hinds counties.  JJ reported yesterday both lawsuits made similar accusations against Pass: Pass took delivery of classic cars to sell on consignment for clients.  The clients allege Pass sold the cars and pocketed the money or simply kept the cars.  Earlier post.


33 comments:

Anonymous said...

There's a sucker born every minute. Good luck getting blood out of a turnip.

Anonymous said...

12:14 it won't be blood from a turnip but if they get their judgement then every one of those classic cars (at least the ones he owns) will be auctioned off.

Anonymous said...

The faux wealthy

Anonymous said...

$100k "loan fee" on $1M for a 4 month loan------what could go wrong? Greed will get ya

Anonymous said...

I used to date a girl in high school her dad had a lot of money and she liked to show it. Turns out her dad had filed a lot of bankruptcies and opened new business under another name. Eventually caught up with him. You never know from the glitter

Anonymous said...

When they're in deep some folks just get their shovel and keep digging!

Anonymous said...

Just buy VTI or even better...VT. Don't be greedy!

Anonymous said...

Lie down with dogs - get fleas!

Anonymous said...

He's a baller in his own mind.

Turns out to be just another big hat no cattle rodeo clown from Joklahoma.

Anonymous said...

The whole car culture has been ruined by reality tv and idiots like this.

Anonymous said...

A buddy bought a numbers-matching '72 Corvette from him. He had a problem installing some upgrades because the block had the same castings as an '84 pickup engine.

Anonymous said...

Timothy "Craig" Fant

Anonymous said...

Who would loan a million dollars to a used car salesman?

Anonymous said...

All you Monday morning quarter backs - some of yall bought timber deeds ….and some of yall still own world com stock….and others of yall own 2% in some failed weed growing operation …..but you come right on back here and prognosticate ….anyone want to meet up at Seafood Revolution in Ridgeland or maybe Schimmels?

Anonymous said...

Then it wasn't numbers matching.

Anonymous said...

Of Taste in Ridgeland?

Anonymous said...

If you want to be a numbers matching guy it goes one of 3 ways:

1. Know how to spot the fakes yourself by the numbers and all the other clues.

2. Have YOUR expert verify the authenticity.

3. Pay your money and take your chances. It's even possible the seller got taken by a fake and doesn't even know they're selling a fake..

Anonymous said...

Seriously. Right?

Anonymous said...

If a deal sounds too good to be true…it probably is.

Anonymous said...

This is hilarious. Spending money on a classic car is more expensive than having a mistress. I prefer a motorcycles. Nothing better than cranking my hog.

Anonymous said...

The camel hump 2.02/1.60 heads turned out to be '84 vortec smogger heads 😭

Anonymous said...

There's allegedly some sort of funny business with used car sales?

That's unpossible!

Anonymous said...

JD Pass has been doing this for YEARS. It blows my mind that people continue doing business with him.

Anonymous said...

JD Pass is a F’ing crook. I wonder what his arrangement is with the big bolted on modified headlights is? Met him once and the phrase all hat no cattle is correct. He’s the smartest man in the room and you don’t even hav rp to ask him, he’ll tell you. Rumor is he is running cover for a big money person. The money he uses isn’t even his. I want to say he got in some trouble with some heavy equipment som years back.

Anonymous said...

Is his money in the Jackson Area Federal Credit Union?

Anonymous said...

And you voted for Chowke, Biden, Harris, and Obama. Good job. Not.

Anonymous said...

IDK why people are into american classic cars. They were cheap cars with cheap vinyl and bad switches and knobs.

Anonymous said...

The vast majority of those cars are in his warehouse on consignment. So there’s probably not much to get from an auction.

Anonymous said...

Just judging from all the surnames I've never seen, before, in my whole life (for whose origins AI searches yield no definitive answers), I'm thinking that most everybody involved in this story is somebody SCARY.

It's like watching 'The Grifters' - a movie in which the grifters are mostly preying upon each other. But it's also like picking up a rock, to discover a whole world of icky creatures squirming-around.

Anonymous said...

Some people like things you don’t. I’m sure you like things others don’t. Nothing wrong with having different taste.

Anonymous said...

Owns Taste in Ridgeland and Starkville

Anonymous said...

I thought Doctors were poor business people. Obviously restaurant owners are a close second. 🤦‍♂️

Anonymous said...

I bought a car once w/ double hump heads...a yr or so later I had the heads off & found the "Humps" were fashioned outta Bondo! Oh yeah July 29, 2026 at 2:54 PM, I plan to retire shortly & I'm sure the World Com Stock in my portfolio is gonna provide me w/ a comfortable retirement!...


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