Chrome Yellow split by owner’s theft allegations against other owner

Denver Skoolie Business Faces Internal Dispute Over Funds and Competition

A rift has emerged within a two-person Denver company specializing in converting buses into mobile homes, as one co-founder accuses the other of misappropriating company funds and engaging in competing business activities.

Chrome Yellow was established in 2018 by Ben Jackson and Charlie Kern, who set up shop along Federal Boulevard to pursue their passion for transforming buses into skoolies. The idea for the business stemmed from Kern’s personal experience of building his own skoolie after being priced out of the real estate market.

“We got the idea to start this business about three months after I built my first bus,” Kern shared in a 2019 video. “We were already getting offers and propositions from other people.

“Without him, we wouldn’t be doing this,” Kern acknowledged Jackson in the video. “He is the ‘we.’”

Chrome Yellow disclosed in 2019 that a complete bus conversion by the company typically ranged from $55,000 to $95,000, attracting a diverse clientele spanning from young entrepreneurs to retirees.

“I’m here to work on buses with the guys,” Jackson expressed. “I was introduced to working on buses by being a cabinetmaker, but as time has gone on I’ve started to enjoy other aspects of the process. I get excited when clients want to experiment and do something new.”

Despite being equal partners in Chrome Yellow, with Kern serving as president and Jackson as vice president, a recent lawsuit filed by Jackson alleges discrepancies in fund management. Kern, who oversees the company’s bank accounts, allegedly misused a portion of the $263,700 Small Business Administration loan obtained during the pandemic, diverting $28,000 for personal use.

Concerns raised by Jackson extend to Kern’s alleged diversion of the SBA loan for unauthorized purposes and his initiation of competing business ventures in fabrication and consulting, encroaching on Chrome Yellow’s market space.

While Kern declined to comment on the lawsuit, Jackson refrained from discussing the company’s future trajectory through his legal representative.