One day, recalled the businessman Paul T. Croft in 2021, a top salesman at his Chicago-based firm, Croft Enterprises, told him of a man visiting town.
The visitor reportedly looked like Croft, drove a Maserati like Croft, and even had a name like Croft.
The top salesman thought Croft might hit it off with Jonathan D. Frost, the Chattanooga accountant.
“I go, ‘I don’t want a business partner,'” Croft recalled saying. “‘No way.'”