REC#878518 — The Northstar Release
REC#878518 — The Northstar Release, Explained (ELI5 + timeline)
Pulled because Landon read 878518 himself and asked: did the bank hand LCF/JHF property to Justin inside this one document? **Short answer: not quite — but it's the link that made the hand-off possible. The document releases a lien, not title. The title move comes later (2023). But this release is what cleared the runway.**
What the document literally is
A "Request for Full Release of Deed of Trust" + the Public Trustee's "Release of Deed of Trust" (§38-39-102, C.R.S.). Recorded 08-02-2021 in Washington County. It cancels a mortgage lien — it does not move ownership.
The lien it cancels = the 2015 Deed of Trust (REC#862063):
- Dated 04-17-2015, Northstar Bank of Colorado (Yuma) as lender.
- Max principal secured: $336,000.
- Grantor: Lewis C. Frenzl — ½ as Trustee of the JHF Trust, ½ personally.
Who signed it — and who did NOT
- Requested by the bank: Tracey Delinger, VP Loan Operations Escrow, TBK Bank, SSB — described as "Successor in Interest to Independent Bank f/k/a Northstar Bank of Colorado." (Iowa notary.) Prepared by "Ashley Six."
- Executed by: Debra A. Cooper, Deputy Public Trustee, Washington County.
- Lewis C. Frenzl did NOT sign. He appears only as the named "Original Grantor (Borrower)." ➜ This is why the register's "Parties: LCF as Succ Trustee" is misleading — he's described, not a signatory.
- It's a §38-39-102(3)(a) release "without production of the original evidence of debt" — the bank just certifies the debt is satisfied and indemnifies the Public Trustee. No payoff proof is attached. (Evidentiary gap — see below.)
ELI5
Grandpa-era setup: in 2015 Lewis borrowed up to $336k from Northstar Bank, putting up the land as collateral — half on behalf of the Trust, half himself. That's a "lien": if the loan isn't paid, the bank can take the land.
Fast-forward: Northstar Bank got absorbed (Northstar → Independent Bank → TBK Bank). So by 2021, TBK owned that old 2015 loan.
Then in July 2021 TBK writes a brand-new $850,000 loan (REC#878394) with Justin & Jamie Imhof as the borrowers — but with Lewis and the Trust signed on as co-borrowers/pledgors, putting the same Trust land (including Section 17) up as collateral again. Lewis signs 7/7/2021 (those are the signatures in Batch 01 #878394 p12). The TBK contact on the deed is Tyson Mann.
The new $850k loan pays off and erases the old 2015 $336k Northstar loan. Because TBK is now both the old lender and the new lender, it can do the whole thing in-house: take the new loan, clear the old one, and file the paper to wipe the old lien. That paper is 878518. Lewis doesn't have to sign it — the bank (as holder of the old note) asks the Public Trustee to release it, and the Public Trustee does.
So in kid terms: the family land was used as the deposit on a new, bigger loan that's in Justin's name. The old smaller loan got paid off out of that. 878518 is the receipt that erases the old loan from the records — leaving the land clean and now backing Justin's debt.
How it ties into the timeline (the "set the table → take" sequence)
| Date | Rec# | Event | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-04-17 | 862063 | Lewis grants $336k DOT to Northstar (½ Trust / ½ personal) | Old protective lien on the land |
| (2015→2021) | — | Northstar → Independent → TBK Bank | TBK ends up holding the old note |
| 2021-07-01 / rec 07-09 | 878394 | TBK $850,000 DOT. Borrowers: Imhofs + Lewis + JHF Trust. Trust land (incl. Section 17) pledged. Tyson Mann = TBK contact | "Sets the table" — Trust collateral now secures a loan in Justin's name. Prior-encumbrance rider for the 2015 DOT omitted |
| 2021-07-23 / rec 08-02 | 878518 | TBK requests, Public Trustee releases the 2015 Northstar DOT. No LCF signature; no payoff proof produced | Clears the old lien so the $850k DOT sits clean and first in line. The runway is now clear |
| 2023-08-22 | 882938 / 882936 | Justin, as Successor Trustee / PR, executes Trustee's + PR deeds | Title machinery moves to Justin |
| 2023-11-30 | 883505 | PR's Deed of Distribution conveys Section 17 (S½, NE¼, E½NW¼) out of the Estate, Justin as PR | The over-the-line taking — land titled toward Justin |
The thread to pull (why this is "clever")
- Trust collateral, Justin's benefit. The old 2015 debt was half the Trust's. The new $850k loan that retired it is in the Imhofs' name. If the $850k cash flowed to Justin's operation, then the Trust's land was spent backstopping Justin's loan while the Trust got no cash and no credit for its ½ of the old debt being cleared. (Synopsis "no credit" point.)
- No payoff proof. The §38-39-102(3)(a) release means no original note, no payoff statement is in the record. We can't tell from 878518 alone whether the Trust's ½ of the $336k was paid with Trust money or simply rolled into Justin's $850k. Subpoena the TBK payoff/closing statement for the $850k loan — that single document shows where the $850k went and whether the Trust was credited.
- Omitted prior-encumbrance rider. When 878394 recorded 7/9/2021, the 2015 Northstar lien was still of record (not released until 8/2). A clean $850k DOT should have disclosed it as a permitted prior encumbrance; it didn't — consistent with a pre-planned pay-off-and-release.
- Tyson Mann is on the instrument. "After Recording Return To: TBK Bank… Tyson Mann" sits on the face of the $850k DOT (878394). Confirms Landon's read that the bank side (Mann) structured/prodded the 2021 refinance that set this in motion.
Precision note (don't overstate)
878518 does not transfer the land to Justin. A release kills a lien; title stayed with Lewis/the Trust on 8/2/2021. The ownership transfer is the 2023 PR/Trustee deeds (883505 / 882938). 878518's role is the lien-clearing link: it removed the Northstar mortgage so the TBK $850k loan (Trust land as collateral, Justin as borrower) sat clean and unchallenged — which is exactly what made the later, quiet 2023 transfer possible. Necessary link, not the taking itself.
Fund-flow: where the $850k went — STATUS (checked 2026.06.16)
The 2021 $850k Promissory Note + Loan Agreement are NOT in the vault. Only the recorded Deed of Trust (878394) is here; it references a "promissory note signed by Borrower and dated July 1, 2021" but the note itself (and the loan/settlement statement showing disbursement) was never recorded and is not in our files. ⇒ Subpoena item — see below. Without it we cannot prove from documents alone whether the $850k cash went to Justin or whether the Trust was credited for its half of the retired Northstar debt.
While searching, two adjacent TBK instruments surfaced — both 2024, NOT the 2021 $850k (do not confuse):
- "A6 Promissory Note FRF - TBK" = FRF Properties 2304, LLC borrowing $3,624,916.34 from TBK, dated 12-14-2023, "PAID IN FULL 01/24/2024," signed Carol R. Croft, Manager. This is the 2024 Logan-County 1031 closing financing. New entity + new name — thread to develop: who is FRF Properties 2304, LLC / Carol R. Croft, and how does that $3.62M relate to the Frenzl land?
- "A8 Promissory Note JHF JWI - Condon" = Justin W. Imhof, Trustee of the JHF Trust borrowing $593,243.08 from TBK, dated 01-24-2024. Also a 2024-closing instrument.
- The other "Promissory Note / Loan Agreement" files in the vault (
Frenzl PN,frenzl LA,2024.01.24 Trust Loan,JHF 2024) are all the 2024 Logan-County 1031 loan — none is the 2021 $850k.
Open items this raises
- ☐ SUBPOENA: the TBK $850,000 loan file — Promissory Note + Loan/Settlement (HUD) Statement for loan behind REC#878394 (Borrower: Imhofs + Lewis + JHF Trust; closed ~July 2021; TBK contact Tyson Mann). Proves fund flow + whether the Trust was credited. Likely also resolves the $100k "Secure" question.
- ☐ Develop FRF Properties 2304, LLC / Carol R. Croft — the $3.62M TBK borrower paid off at the 1/24/2024 1031 closing.
- ☐ Cross-check vs 2026.06.15 Section 17 — How 560ac Reached Justin and the 2026.06.15 JHF Trust Account Ledger — Chronological Backbone for any 7–8/2021 entries reflecting the payoff.
Related: 2026.06.15 Section 17 — How 560ac Reached Justin · _BATCH01_MANIFEST · 2026.06.15 Charge-Stacking Theory — Theft Counts Against JWI