They said we had collateral. I proved we didn’t. They called it penny stock. I called it a taxpayer trap. Then they reversed course—right after I exposed the truth.
I wasn’t just right about Hersha. I was right about the Delaware Board of Trade (DBOT), too.
While others nodded the deal through, I read the fine print. I followed the numbers. And what I found was worse than carelessness—it was risk disguised as investment.
The County was told we had $3 million in collateral—a software license from Delaware Board of Trade. But that wasn’t accurate. It wasn’t owned. It was leased. Meaning we couldn’t collect on it even if we had to. That alone should have stopped the deal cold.
But there was more. The software was outdated. The fintech market had already moved on. And when Ideanomics—the new parent company—offered to swap that worthless license for its own stock, I dug deeper.
The company was under federal investigation. Its stock had dropped nearly 90%. It was burning through cash. And the proposed stock swap stripped away every legal protection we had. We were going to hand taxpayers twenty-cent shares in a failing company instead of demanding what was owed: real dollars.
I said no. I asked for basic safeguards—a personal loan guarantee from Chairman Bruno Wu or a surety bond to protect the public. I made the financial case in full. The risks were clear. The numbers didn’t lie.
The Council approved it anyway. The vote was 11–1. I was the one.
But after I read my statement into the record—after the facts were on public display—County Executive Matt Meyer reversed course. He claimed it had nothing to do with what I wrote. But the deal died right after I exposed it.
That wasn’t coincidence. That was accountability.
🗓️ What They Promised. What I Proved. What Changed.
November 25, 2015 – Then–County Executive Tom Gordon pushes through a $3 million loan to DBOT using park endowment funds—after Council rejects it. The County is told the software license offered as collateral is worth $3 million.
2019 – I investigate and uncover the truth:
• It’s leased, not owned.
• It’s outdated and already being phased out.
• DBOT is unstable. Ideanomics, its parent company, is hemorrhaging capital.
June 20, 2019 – I meet with Ideanomics and Delaware Board of Trade representatives. I request real protection: a personal loan guarantee or surety bond. Neither is provided.
Fall 2019 – I track the crash:
• Ideanomics stock (IDEX) drops nearly 90%
• The company faces a federal securities fraud suit
• Losses mount. Liquidity warnings appear
• The stock swap would erase all transparency and leverage
November 12, 2019 – Council votes 11–1 in favor of the stock swap. I’m the lone dissent. I warn:
“We go from being paid first—to last, or not at all. We get all the bad and none of the good.”
December 4, 2019 – WDEL reports County Executive Meyer has reversed course. The stock deal is dead.
He says it wasn’t because of me. But the timeline—and the truth—say otherwise.
May 19, 2024 – Ideanomics stock (IDEX) trades at $0.20.
The public would’ve been left holding the bag.
But I stopped it.
– Karen Hartley-Nagle
President, New Castle County Council (2016-2024)