Updated: Adrian Dickey, Jefferson County Treasurer named in lawsuit

Editors note: Comments from Senator Dickey have been added to this story since it was originally published. Dickey sent his comments along with this statement directed at the Southeast Iowa Union. “I am highly disappointed that the Southeast Iowa Union published this article without even reaching out to me for a quote.”

FAIRFIELD — Packwood resident and Iowa Sen. Adrian Dickey is being sued by a group of people including his daughter, who are alleging that he committed fraud when he transferred the title of a vehicle in her name to his own.

The case was filed in Jefferson County on July 5 and is between Adrian Dickey and his daughter Korynn Tjaden Dickey, along with Shawna Husted and Allen Husted. The petitioning parties allege that Adrian Dickey purchased a vehicle for Korynn with “no strings attached” in July of 2020 while Korynn was attending school in California.

“This lawsuit affects not a single constituent that I represent. Including my daughter, or my ex-wife, who live outside of SD44.” states Adrian Dickey.

The petitioners claim that Adrian obtained the title from Korynn, and promised to register the vehicle for her in Iowa, but they claimed that he never obtained her consent to place a lien on the vehicle. They claim that when Adrian took out a lien application, he presented a certificate of title for Korynn’s vehicle, which bore her signature. The petitioners claim that this was not her signature, and that Adrian signed the title.

“Korynn would not have consented to Adrian purchasing a vehicle for her had she known he would take a security interest in the vehicle,” the petitioners stated in their lawsuit. They are being represented in court by Siobhan Briley of Pugh Hagan Prahm in Coralville.

Adrian Dickey said, “I am NOT guilty of a thing. I am a loving father, who 3 years ago bought his daughter a safe and dependable vehicle for her to drive, while she was going to college in California.”

On May 15, 2023, Korynn’s vehicle was totaled in an accident. However, the petitioners claim that the insurance company is refusing to pay on its policy because of the lien taken out on the vehicle.

The petitioners also allege that the Jefferson County Treasurer’s Office engaged in a civil conspiracy, since the treasurer “knew or should have known that Adrian was not authorized to sign the documents on Korynn’s behalf and that the signatures were therefore forged.”

“By knowingly accepting the forged documents, the Treasurer facilitated Adrian’s criminal conduct and agreed with Adrian to engage in conduct constituting a crime,” the petitioners claim in their lawsuit.

The defendants in the case, Adrian Dickey and Jefferson County Treasurer Mark Myers, are denying the charges.

Adrian Dickey’s attorney Paul Miller of Fairfield submitted a reply to the petitioners on July 31, and detailed the portions of the allegation that they disagreed with. For instance, Dickey denied the petitioners’ claim that the vehicle was given with “no strings attached,” as they phrased it. Dickey denied the claim that he “never obtained Korynn’s consent to place a lien on her vehicle” as the petitioners said.

According to Adrian, “Documents will show that conversations took place between Korynn and I where she consented to me placing myself as a lien holder and that I would have to do the paperwork because she was going to school in California. Documents will also show that she clearly understood a reason I was going to make myself a lien holder was to prevent her from selling the car for quick cash or trading it in on a vehicle that she could not afford.”

On the allegation that the lien application was not signed by Korynn but instead was Adrian printing Korynn’s name, Miller writes in his response that “Plaintiff [Korynn] had acquiesced or consented/gave her permission to the Defendant [Adrian] to sign Plaintiff’s name to the document. Plaintiff also provides this as an affirmative defense to the allegation of forgery.”

Miller asked the court to dismiss the case with costs charged to the plaintiff. He also requested the court to order the petitioners to sign over the insurance check to Adrian.

Regarding the Treasurer’s Office role in the matter, Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding is representing the treasurer, and asked the court to dismiss the charge of civil conspiracy. Moulding wrote in his response that Iowa law does not require the treasurer to complete the “action taken” section of the lien application as the petitioners are alleging.

“The County Treasurer does not have the legal duty or ability to investigate the validity of a signature on a lien application,” Moulding wrote in his response. “Plaintiff’s allegations presuppose a legal duty that does not exist. The County Treasurer would not know, nor could he know that the signature was forged, as alleged by the Plaintiffs.”

Adrian Dickey concluded, “I always have, and I always will love my daughter, no matter how many harmful or hurtful things she said or does. But at some point this young lady has to realize that there are consequences in life with decisions that are made and with words that are said. That is something that I have tried to instill in her entire life, however, as you have seen with the other plaintiffs that were in this lawsuit, I’ve been doing this on my own for 20 years, and it is very difficult.“

District Court Judge Lucy Gamon ordered a hearing for the matter for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 28 at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com: Updated with quotes by Matt Bryant