According to Fonville & Co., which has filed a claim against two companies in which Mulvaney has an ownership stake, the former congressman used a series of financial maneuvers to get out of paying him back. Specifically, Fonville alleges, Mulvaney formed a company called Indian Land Ventures in order to foreclose on the original one, Lancaster Collins Road LLC, and get out of paying the debt he owed by claiming that the value of the property had decreased, leaving only enough money to pay back the primary lender. (Fonville was the secondary lender on the deal.) Mulvaney has not personally been sued, but the claim, reviewed by The Washington Post, refers to an unnamed individual connected to both companies—referred to simply as “Member A”—who allegedly hatched a plan “with intent to deceive and constitute fraudulent acts and inequitable misconduct” in order to avoid paying the $2.5 million owed to Fonville. Late last year, Mulvaney was deposed in the case, which, thus far, a judge appears to believe has some merit:

In court filings, the Mulvaney-connected companies denied the allegations and asked that Fonville & Co.’s claim be dismissed. . . . Indian Land sought to go through with the foreclosure and dismiss the counterclaim from Fonville & Co., saying Fonville & Co. had willingly subordinated its secondary loan to the primary mortgage.

But South Carolina Circuit Court Judge John C. Hayes III denied the motion to dismiss the matter, ruling in June 2018 that Fonville & Co. had raised “novel legal questions” that should be addressed.

“I can’t believe he treated me the way he did,” Fonville told the Post, referring to ole Mick. “It is not a small piece of money. You are talking about a couple of million dollars. I have tried to call him. He never called me back. I had thought Mick was an ethical person.”

Mulvaney, whose lawyer says his client did “nothing wrong,” declined to comment.

If you would like to receive the Levin Report in your inbox daily, click here to subscribe.

Father of arrested Chinese tech exec hopes flattery will work on Trump

Last month, as Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping sat down for dinner on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Argentina, Canada arrested tech executive Meng Wanzhou, reportedly at the behest of the U.S. Then, shortly after Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer assured reporters the arrest had nothing to do the U.S.’s protracted trade war with Beijing, Trump told Reuters, out loud, that he basically regards the Huawei C.F.O. as a hostage, with the ransom being concessions from China that will allow him to tweet that he struck “THE BIGGEST TRADE DEAL EVER.” Now, knowing that he is dealing with a man who has both an extremely tiny brain and loves to be told how great he is, Huawei C.E.O. Ren Zhengfei— who is also Meng’s father—had this to say: