Tulsa's U.S. Shooting Academy Facing Foreclosure

By Lacie Lowry, The News On 6

TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- The future of a Tulsa shooting academy is under fire.

The U.S. Shooting Academy is the largest law enforcement training and competition facility in the nation and now it's under foreclosure after the sudden death of its founder.

Tom Fee died on August 31st. Three days later, F&M Bank sued the Shooting Academy and Fee's other company, Fee Oil and Gas, saying they defaulted on their loans.

Despite foreclosure proceedings, the academy is gearing up for a busy fall.

"I'd say the future is bright. I'm not going to sit here and say we don't have some challenges and obstacles in front of us," said Brad Delauter, USSA CEO.

Like legal challenges. An F&M Bank executive testified Friday that the Shooting Academy business account is overdrawn by almost $30,000 and the next payroll is September 15th.

On top of that, Neal Tomlins with F&M says the shooting academy has $2.3 million in loans from the bank. The bank is now asking the court to name a third party to manage its assets.

The shooting academy is fighting that request, insisting the company is worth $15 million.

"It's important for us to keep things status quo as they were for Tommy, for our clients and for the City of Tulsa," Delauter said.

The insurance to run the facility reportedly expires around September 28th and the academy hasn't renewed yet. Still, the CEO is pushing forward with several training events and insists business is booming.

"We are going to continue to build our membership program, we are going to continue to build our training group, we are going to continue to bring in department of defense contracts and we are going to continue to have some of the largest shooting events in this country throughout the year," Delauter said.

Delauter said the academy added 105 new members last month, for a total of more than 600.

The judge issued a temporary restraining order on both businesses Friday. However, U.S. Shooting Academy and Fee Oil and Gas can continue with their ordinary course of business. The next court date is next Friday.