Fresno State has one more commission payment to make to its consultant for the Save Mart Center naming rights deal. Two parties are claiming rights to the final $180,000 check. In a Solomon-like approach, Fresno State cannot decide who should receive the money and is asking the court for help.

In 1997, Fresno State contracted with The Wilkinson Group to sell naming rights for the yet-to-be-opened arena. The Save Mart Center debuted in 2003, with the Modesto-based supermarket chain agreeing to pay the university $40 million over 23 years. The deal expires later this year.

Fresno State paid an annual commission of $180,000 to TWG, with the final payment scheduled for last year.

A third company, Mentor Capital, claims it has the right to the money based on a “private exchange agreement,” according to a court filing by Fresno State. Mentor Capital is seeking direct payment instead of going through TWG.

Fresno State, through the California State University, Fresno Association Inc., filed the interpleader complaint in Fresno County Superior Court on Jan. 27.

“The association asked the involved parties to resolve their dispute regarding the commission payments. When they were unable to do so, the association filed the interpleader so a judge could determine the appropriate recipient and ensure the association was not placed in the middle of a private contractual dispute,” said Nicole Lane, executive director of Fresno State Auxiliary Services.

The university said it is willing to deposit the amount with the court and be “discharged from all further liability.”

The complaint included several email messages exchanged between the parties.

Mentor Capital: Fresno State Is ‘Innocent Party’

Mentor Capital is a publicly traded firm based in Plano, Texas. The company’s CEO, Chester Billingsley, said his company purchased the right to receive future payments from TWG in 2015.

The deal exchanged 757,059 shares of Mentor Capital stock for the rights to the remaining 11 payments, worth approximately $1.3 million. TWG had been signing over the checks in previous years. For the 2024 check, Mentor Capital asked Fresno State for direct payment but was told the request came too late. The firm made the same request in December.

TWG sent its most recent invoice to Fresno State on Dec. 3, 2025.

“Fresno State is an innocent party, and they’re not withholding this last payment. They just have two people claiming to be paid,” Billingsley told GV Wire.

Billingsley compared the deal to the business model of JG Wentworth — the firm with the catchy TV jingle that buys future guaranteed payments for cash. He also said the deal is like a homeowner selling a home but continuing to receive rent payments from a tenant. That money, Billingsley said, should go directly to the owner.

“Fresno State can decide, because we’ve presented the sales contract to them, or they can let the court decide, and letting the court decided is a safer action,” Billingsley said.

Troy Ewell, an attorney representing the association, sent a memo to TWG and Mentor Capital stating that Fresno State “cannot make a unilateral determination as to the proper payee without exposing itself to the risk of multiple or inconsistent liability.”

The memo asked the parties for a joint written instruction by Dec. 19, 2025, or the association would file a motion in court — which is what happened.

TWG did not respond to a message from GV Wire.

Judge Kristi Culver Kapetan will hear a general motion on June 25. A case management conference before Judge Maria G. Diaz is scheduled for July 1.