Ant Anstead, the familiar face from television, just got hit with a hefty financial order. A prominent news channel exclusively reported that a man claims the TV star broke a promise. This led to a judge ordering a significant payout.
On September 23, a judge in the Orange County Superior Court told Anstead and his business partner, Jenson Button, to pay up. They now owe $101,000 in damages. Plus, there’s $17,000 for interest and other fees. This brings their total bill to $119,357. The judgment came about because Anstead, who is 46, and his partner never responded to the initial lawsuit.
The whole legal mess started in July 2024. A man named Timothy Tasker sued Anstead’s company, Radford Motors. Later on, Tasker added Anstead and Button as personal defendants in the case.
Tasker explained in his lawsuit that he met Anstead on April 1, 2022. He said Anstead told him about making and selling a brand-new car. Only 62 of these special cars would ever be made. Tasker then paid a deposit of $101,000 to secure one of these custom vehicles.
Ant Anstead Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Discovery Channel
Court papers show Tasker was invited to events with Anstead and his business partners. This included “track time in the first” custom car. He was told the first cars would arrive by the end of 2022. The rest would follow throughout 2023. But in October 2022, Tasker told Radford he no longer wanted to buy the car. He stated that an executive understood and promised a full refund of $101,000 by the end of 2022.
The refund never came. For months, Tasker’s phone calls and emails about his $101,000 deposit went unanswered. In September 2023, a former Radford employee told him she no longer worked there. She said Tasker’s information was sent to the company’s new chief financial officer. Tasker said he couldn’t get in touch with the new CFO either.
The lawsuit claimed Anstead and his team hadn’t delivered even one custom car to customers. Tasker also said he believed that many others had paid similar or even larger deposits. These people, like him, also asked for their money back without success.
Tasker’s initial lawsuit accused Radford, Anstead, and Button of fraud, breaking a contract, and taking money improperly. He asked for his full $101,000 back. Later, Tasker dropped the fraud and improper money charges against Anstead. However, the breach of contract action remained. Radford Motors denied all claims of doing anything wrong. The company was eventually removed from the case.
Anstead’s representative shared a strong statement with the news outlet. They said, “Mr. Anstead and Mr. Button were completely unaware of the alleged judgment.” They stated neither man was served with the lawsuit. They also claimed neither received notice about any request for a default judgment. So, if a judgment was made, it didn’t follow proper legal steps. Anstead and Button are talking to their lawyers and plan to “immediately move to vacate” the judgment. The representative added that the ruling was not based on any facts. It was obtained “secretly and without legally required notice.” They even said Anstead and Button still hadn’t received any official notice of the judgment.
Ant Anstead Dave Benett/Getty Images for Jaguar TCS Racing
As previously reported by the news channel, Anstead’s supercar company, Radford Motors, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2024. Radford was a British car company. Anstead, Formula One driver Button, and other partners brought it back to life in 2020. The bankruptcy filing happened after Radford faced accusations of fraud.
For example, a businessman named Pastor (Pat) Velasco sued Anstead and one of his partners. Velasco claimed they owed $2 million. His lawsuit accused both men of using company money for personal expenses. Another lawsuit also alleged that Anstead and a different partner mismanaged the company’s finances.
On October 24, 2024, Anstead released a statement. He insisted he was “fully committed” to Radford despite the “challenges” with money. He explained that Radford was making “strategic organizational improvements.” He added that it would continue to operate normally. Anstead stated his role and dedication to Radford’s success were “unchanged.” He also mentioned that he and Button, who is 45, would “maintain our core commitment to excellence.”
A few days later, a representative for Radford addressed the ongoing lawsuits. They said all claims would be handled as part of the bankruptcy process. In May, the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing was changed to a Chapter 7 filing.