[Article] Bill Hynes charged with stealing $4.39 million from UFD, York Daiy Record Options

[PillarofDavidson99]

More charges were filed. Maybe this is why it was taken down.

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/local/2023/0...so/70644633007/

[Edit dangum: thread split from #37 Chad Taylor Sold the Drama, We want a Refund!, feat. Chad Gracey and Bill Hynes

This post has been edited by dangum: Aug 22 2023, 5:46 am

[PillarofDavidson99]

More charges were filed. Maybe this is why it was taken down.

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/local/2023/0...so/70644633007/

This article too:

https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/loc...ll/70644220007/

[dangum]

Bill Hynes charged with stealing $4.39 million from United Fiber and Data
Mike Argento
York Daily Record

In February, Rolling Stone reported that Bill Hynes, the former CEO of business entities founded by him and members of the rock band Live, was under investigation for allegedly stealing $3.82 million from the band’s headlining business venture, United Fiber and Data.

At the time, Hynes said that allegation was untrue.

But in a criminal complaint filed Aug. 16 charging Hynes with two felonies - theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and theft by deception by false impressions - the Pennsylvania State Police accused Hynes of stealing nearly $4.4 million from UFD and the family of its primary investor, the late York business magnate and millionaire philanthropist Louis Appell Jr.

Released on $25,000 bail, Hynes responded to the charges by saying, “I am shocked and outraged by these charges. These matters were amicably resolved in July of 2022. My legal team is already in possession of significant exonerating evidence, and I look forward to my day in court.”



Live:Rolling Stone magazine digs into the litigious, drama-filled saga of York rockers

The 16-page criminal complaint offers excruciating details of alleged misdeeds Hynes committed while serving as CEO of Live’s various business ventures.

It alleges spending money for endorsements of the business, to collecting thousands of dollars for personal use, to stealing millions of dollars from a state program intended to redevelop blighted urban properties.

The charges are the latest in the byzantine legal saga that Live and its members find themselves engrossed in. Hynes, who had a previous criminal record of fraud, has had his own legal troubles, from criminal charges brought by a former girlfriend who accused him of stalking and abusing her. He pleaded no contest to some of the charges, he said, to put the matter behind him and was sentenced to six months of house arrest and three years' probation.

Additionally, Hynes and former Live guitarist Chad Taylor are embroiled in a legal battle − with Taylor accusing Hynes of stealing $10 million from him and Hynes accusing Taylor of defamation.



Lawsuit-apalooza for Live:Band members, associates trade accusations in blitz of filings

The criminal complaint filed against Hynes for the theft charges outlines his relationship with band members Taylor, bass player Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey, and with Appell.

In the complaint, state police Trooper Timothy Reynolds writes that Hynes became CEO of UFD in November 2015 and remained in that position, with unfettered access to the company’s resources until his resignation in 2019, when he was arrested on charges related to stalking and abusing his former girlfriend.

It also describes Appell’s involvement in the company, including $25.25 million in loans to the band’s business ventures in exchange for equity in the enterprises. Later, the trooper wrote that Appell’s son told him that his father invested more than $60 million in UFD, hoping that the company’s plan to build and manage a fiber-optic line from New York to Virginia would pay off down the line.



Band members ceded control of the company and its finances to Hynes. According to the complaint, Hynes, who was involved in truck racing, paid $3 million to sponsor Andretti Motorports, a deal that band members were unaware of. At the time, the criminal complaint states, UFD had not generated any revenue and, further, band members were unaware that Hynes had cut the deal. The deal did ingratiate Hynes to the Andrettis – one of the royal families of Indy car racing – and gave him access special events at races. The trooper wrote that the transaction, hyped at a press conference in York featuring one of the Andrettis’ Indy cars, “greatly benefitted Hynes but offered no benefit to UFD.”

The trooper also wrote that Hynes “maneuvered money between numerous accounts to obfuscate his financial malfeasance and told investors, including (Appell) that the investments were being used to fund the construction of UFD’s fiber optic line.”

UFD executives went to police

The investigation into Hynes began when two UFD executives - CEO Andrew Paxton and Chief Operating Officer Christopher Lodge - went to state police to report “multiple incidents of theft” committed by Hynes. They told troopers that they believed Hynes had used more than $3.7 million on personal purchases, or outright stole the money.

The allegations came to light after Hynes was arrested on the charges related to his domestic situation. When members of UFD’s board met to discuss business, according to the complaint, members would say that Hynes selectively provided them with information “to conceal the depths of his financial malfeasance.” An internal investigation concluded that Hynes “was stealing company funds for his own personal use and gain," according to the complaint.



Among those was $275,000 Hynes paid to Indianapolis Motor Sports Productions to underwrite expenses related to Stadium Super Trucks, a “personal endeavor” of Hynes’, according to the criminal complaint, and “unrelated to his responsibilities as CEO of UFD.” The complaint further states that Hynes was “specifically told by executives and board members of UFD ... not to use company funds on his personal racing endeavors.”

The complaint alleges that Hynes “fabricated” invoices to cover entry fees in Stadium Super Truck races, doctoring the invoices “to remove any mention of racing, or simply created invoices” to the tune of $275,000.

One UFD bookkeeper told state police that the invoices, which covered driver sponsorships, entry fees, car repairs and other expenses were “very vague in nature.”

State RACP grant

Among the most significant allegations in the complaint is a charge that Hynes “stole” over $3 million from a state grant program intended to redevelop blighted communities. Called the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, the grants were intended to assist people and business in “the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historic improvement projects.”

The grants required local investors to put the money up front to pay for projects, which would then be reimbursed by the state. The York County Redevelopment Authority won a $5 million grant to assist Live’s company, Think Loud Development, to renovate its property on York Street.

Louis Appell agreed to front the company $5 million to complete the project and qualify for the state grant. Kinsley Construction was contracted to perform the work, which totaled $14 million and later, after the debt went unpaid, prompted Kinsley to seize ownership of Think Loud headquarters, housed in an old industrial building.

After Appell’s death in 2016, his son, Louis Appell III, took responsibility for his father’s business. When Appell III’s wife questioned Hynes about the state funds, the complaint states, Hynes said “he was still working on getting the funds from the state.” In fact, the complaint states, the money had been deposited in UFD bank accounts a year prior and had been transferred out of those accounts to “various companies that Hynes owns.”

A lawsuit filed by UFD against Hynes regarding Appell’s investment had been settled in August 2022. In a statement released upon the undisclosed settlement, Appell’s attorney Justin Tomevi, wrote, "United Fiber & Data, LLC and Mr. Louis Appell, III confirm that all outstanding claims against Mr. Hynes and his related entity have been mutually, fully and fairly settled, including all allegations of fraud, theft of funds and related allegations of wrongdoing alleged in the Complaint that United Fiber & Data, LLC and Mr. Appell filed. Both parties are satisfied with the result of the business resolution and look forward to seeing UFD become a profitable company."

The state police, apparently, took a different view, and the result of the lengthy investigation is that Hynes being charged with two felonies.

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/local/2023/0...so/70644633007/

[dangum]

https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/loc...ll/70644220007/

New charges filed against Bill Hynes say he stole millions from UFD, Appell
Aimee Ambrose
York Dispatch



Entrepreneur and developer Bill Hynes faces new criminal charges from a lengthy investigation alleging he stole millions from the company he helped found and the philanthropist who invested in it.

The new case, nearly three years in the making, weaves into a host of legal fighting involving Hynes, his businesses, partners and investors from the past several years.

The 51-year-old is charged with a felony count of theft by failing to make required disposition of funds and another count of theft by deception following a Pennsylvania State Police investigation.

The charges were filed Wednesday. Hynes underwent a preliminary arraignment Monday morning before District Judge Thomas Harteis. His bail was set at $25,000, according to court documents.

State police allege Hynes took or misused nearly $4.4 million in funds at United Fiber and Data from 2017-2019.

This came while he headed the company, which he helped found with three founding members of alt-rock band Live — Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer and Chad Gracey. The four also started the Think Loud family of businesses that UFD was tied to.

“I am shocked and outraged by these charges. These matters were amicably resolved in July of 2022,” Hynes told The York Dispatch on Monday afternoon. “My legal team is already in possession of significant exonerating evidence, and I look forward to my day in court.”

The resolution Hynes referenced came from a settlement of a civil lawsuit which, when filed in 2020, included allegations similar to those brought by police last week.

The investigation focused primarily on five situations from accusations reported by UFD CEO Chris Lodge and company president Andrew Paxton in November 2020 — the report came one month after the civil suit was filed.

The most significant involved nearly $3.4 million in state funds from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. The funds supported the renovation of the building at 210 York St. to serve as Think Loud and UFD’s headquarters in the mid-2010s.



Police alleged Hynes couldn’t secure bank funding the companies needed to have up front for the project in order to qualify for reimbursement under the grant program. So, he reached out to Louis Appell III, the son of late local philanthropist and primary UFD backer Louis Appell Jr., for assistance, according to charging documents.

Appell opened a $5 million line of credit for the building renovation under a promissory note that required repayment within about two weeks of any RACP reimbursement, police said in the charging documents.

UFD received nearly $3.4 million in RACP funds through the York County Redevelopment Authority in June 2018.

Police alleged that right away, Hynes transferred most of the amount from one business account to several related business accounts. They included two Think Loud entities and a holding company set up to own an industrial site at 240 Arch St. — the location roughly neighbors 210 York St. in an area where early UFD plans called for developing a tech campus.

During an interview with investigators in late 2021, Appell alleged he hadn’t been reimbursed on his promissory note, charging documents show.

The case also alleged that Hynes:

• Spent $275,000 in UFD money on stadium super truck racing expenses;
• Funneled $179,490 in UFD money through a related company, YRK Magazine, to pay off personal credit card bills under the guise that the funds were for software development at the magazine;
• Stole and later returned $50,000 related to a certificate of deposit from a corporate account;
• And redirected a $500,000 loan from a trust to allegedly create the appearance he was putting up his own funds to match more funding he sought from the Appell family.
• The charging documents filed by the state police go further into detail on each point in the list of allegations from the investigation.

The criminal case comes one year after Hynes settled a civil lawsuit with Appell III and UFD in August 2022. The suit, which was filed in 2020, made similar allegations of theft, fraud and misuse of funds.

This also marks the second criminal case against Hynes in York County.

He pleaded no contest to counts of simple assault, stalking, trespassing and forgery in September 2022, a month after the settlement, after his ex-girlfriend, a former UFD employee, made abuse allegations in 2019.

He was sentenced to three years of probation. That included six months of home detention and electronic monitoring, which he did from 210 York St. where he still has an office and apparently leased living space in an upper floor.

Years earlier, Hynes was also convicted of theft in 2010 related to business transactions in Northampton County.

And as the state police conducted the investigation, Hynes also became a central figure in several civil lawsuits since last November against Taylor and Dahlheimer.

Those lawsuits largely target Taylor with allegations of fraud and misuse of funds, while another is a fight over property involving Invictus One, the company that now owns 210 York St.

UFD no longer operates out of the 210 York St. facility. The space the company originally occupied was leased to student loan company, CampusDoor, in late 2021, shortly after Invictus One acquired the building.

— Reach Aimee Ambrose at aambrose@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @aimee_TYD.

[PillarofDavidson99]

Quite a read huh?

EDIT - accidentally hit post too quick

This post has been edited by PillarofDavidson99: Aug 22 2023, 11:58 am

[Chapps]

I find that when people say they have significant/substantial or whatever evidence they really have none.

Also, I would have thought that one of his lawyers would have explained the difference between civil and criminal cases.

[717raised]

I'm so shocked

[dangum]

https://www.pennlive.com/crime/2023/08/form...ain-police.html

Former CEO of central Pa. company embezzled millions: police

Updated: Aug. 23, 2023, 9:15 p.m.|Published: Aug. 23, 2023, 8:37 p.m.

Police say the former CEO of a telecommunications company stole over $4 million from the business by funneling money into personal accounts and unrelated businesses he was also involved in.

William “Bill” Hynes, 51, of York, served as the CEO of United Fiber & Data, LLC (UFD) – a company aiming to build and manage a fiber optic line from New York to Virginia – from 2015 through 2019, according to court documents.

From 2015 through 2017, UFD was solely operated by Hynes – even though Hynes only owned 25% of the company – giving him unrestricted access to the company’s money, resources and assets until he resigned in 2019 following unrelated charges, a criminal complaint form says.

Hynes and his three business partners in UFD were also equal owners of two other LLCs, Think Loud Development (TLD) and 120 York, which aimed to renovate a blighted property located at 210 York St. in York.

On July 7, 2013, and Oct. 18, 2013, Hynes made a $3 million and $24 million sponsorship agreement with Andretti Autosport without consulting any of the other UFD owners, court documents say.

UFD had not made any money at the time of the Andretti Autosport deals and all of its operational funding was from private loans, the majority of which had been obtained through prominent York businessman Louis Appell Jr., the documents stated.

Although there was no operating agreement requiring Hynes to get approval for the Andretti deals at the time, court documents say Hynes still breached his fiduciary responsibility to the company. They added that the sponsorship led to UFD branding on Andretti Autosport-operated Indycar race cars, paddock and garage credentials for Hynes, access to special hospitality events during Indycar races, and close access to the Andretti family. These benefited Hynes, the documents said, but “offered no benefit to UFD.”

On Nov. 6, 2020, two of Hynes’ business partners reported Hynes to the Pennsylvania State Police, saying he stole about $3.73 million in company money for personal purchases from 2017 to 2019, the affidavit says.

The company funds in question were:

• $250,000 in services from Indianapolis Motor Sports Productions via falsified invoices
• $179,490 in services from YRK Magazine
• $50,000 to open a corporate American Express account
• $3,388,027 in a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) for the purchase of a building

Think Loud Development was awarded a RACP state grant of up to $5 million on July 3, 2014, to redevelop the building at 210 York St., the criminal complaint says.

However, Hynes controlled Think Loud Development, United Fiber & Data (UFD) and 120 York at the time, and UFD and 120 York did not have the funds to take advantage of the grant, leading Hynes to take a private loan of just over $4 million.

The money from the loan was wired to Kinsley Construction, who performed around $14 million worth of services at 210 York St., court documents say.

When the renovation funds were reimbursed under the RACP grant, Hynes transferred $3,388,027 into accounts for his other businesses in structured payments to avoid detection by the bank, the affidavit says.

Court documents also say Hynes transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to his personal accounts to pay off his credit card debt.

Hynes is also accused of making illegal transfers regarding funds for another property at 240 Arch St. while lying to his lender about when the state would release funds to him.

Court documents also detail $500,000 from a trust that Hynes requested a loan from that he transferred into his personal account.

A preliminary hearing for the theft charges is scheduled for Nov. 3 in front of Magisterial District Judge Thomas Harteis.

[Pingfah]

I'm shocked to hear that this guy might not be completely on the level. There were absolutely no red flags whatsoever.

[bigdog]

Maybe the Fed’s aren’t far behind with charges of wire fraud and a few other charges.