Nashville Bike Week: Ex-Con Organizer Delays Venue Announcement Again, Refuses Refunds, Threatens Critics

NASHVILLE, TN — Another deadline came and went Friday, as Nashville Bike Week's convicted felon organizer confirmed the event will not be giving refunds.

Mike Axle — whose real name is Michael Leffingwell — took to Facebook Live Friday. For weeks, he'd promised the new site of the 10-day motorcycle rally set for September 14-24 somewhere in Humphreys County would be announced. The event has been in need of a new home since Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills ended its relationship with the rally due to non-payment for more on Nashville Bike Week and other local news, subscribe to your Middle Tennessee Patch).

Every couple of weeks, Leffingwell — who has served federal time for fraud – promises to announce the replacement location for Lynn's ranch, but as yet to deliver, now saying he is waiting for approval from the state for a mass gathering permit to do so.

In Friday's rambling video, Leffingwell confirmed that no refunds would be given for people who bought tickets who might be getting cold feet, a reversal from several statements made in the immediate aftermath of the Lynn Ranch cancellation.

In a separate Facebook Live video Saturday morning, Leffingwell became more threatening, saying he "could look into the background and the credit scores" of anyone being critical of him and the event, and promising to stifle dissent on the event's Facebook page.

"There will be no more negativity on our Facebook. We will delete your comments and block you," he said.

Meanwhile, he said while he gets an outstanding warrant sorted out, he was "stepping back." Leffingwell claimed he had one warrant for his arrest for a missed court date, though he is wanted to answer for warrants in Sumner and Maury counties in Tennessee, as well as in Missouri and Georgia. The Humphreys County Sheriff told WSMV that if Leffingwell comes to his county, he'll likely be arrested because of those warrants.

After Loretta Lynn's ranch backed out, questions began to be raised about the legitimacy of the event and that of its organizer. Leffingwell has been charged several times in Davidson County for theft. He was sentenced to years of jail time after scamming a home owner by taking a deposit for fencing work and never completing the job or returning the deposit. He's also been charged with similar crimes in Williamson and Maury counties, according to NewsChannel 5.

In 2007, Leffingwell was sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered by a U.S. District Court Judge in Missouri to pay nearly a quarter of a million dollars in restitution after defrauding numerous companies by presenting himself as a NASCAR truck series driver and signing those companies up for advertising deals for the 2006 NASCAR season. Leffingwell drove in just four NASCAR events between September 2001 and July 2005 and in none after engaging in his scheme. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and for failure to appear.
Leffingwell has also been the subject of numerous Better Business Bureau complaints, not just in Tennessee but in West Virginia as well, typically about uncompleted but paid-for work.