CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charles Hatfield, the former Williamson mayor and Williamson Memorial Hospital CEO, has been sentenced to five years of federal probation after he stole hospital funds.
Hatfield, 62, stole $34,872.62 in funds for personal use without authorization.
On May 16, 2019, Hatfield, who became CEO of Williamson Memorial in 2018, directed nearly $9,200 in hospital funds to be used to purchase a cashier’s check. The check was made payable to a person associated with Venice Sands Apartments-Argus Management in Venice, Florida.
Hatfield, who resigned as the town’s mayor last May, admitted to using the hospital’s funds to settle a lawsuit relating to a delinquent real estate taxes and homeowners’ fee. The owed amount came from a condominium he owned in Venice.
Additionally, Hatfield transferred over $25,000 in the hospital’s funds to a real estate company he owned and operated called Mid Mountain Properties. Hatfield directed the transfer on September 25, 2019, just days before he was relieved as CEO of the hospital. Williamson Memorial filed for bankruptcy shortly after this transaction.
Hatfield told business partners that he used the transferred funds to pay a personal obligation, and later admitted that we was aware the hospital was not going to be able to pay for employee benefits programs when he transferred the funds. He also admitted that no authorization was given from Williamson Memorial Hospital’s board of directors to direct payments to himself for personal use.
Hatfield has also been ordered to pay $34,872.62 in restitution and a $20,000 fine.