Article New charges coming in theft case against Bill Hynes, York Dispatch Options

[dangum]

New charges coming in theft case against Bill Hynes
Aimee Ambrose
York Dispatch
Dec 19, 2023

Entrepreneur Bill Hynes will move forward to a possible trial on corporate theft allegations with two new charges added to his case.

The 51-year-old is accused of stealing $4.4 million from United Fiber and Data, the company he helped found with members of the rock band Live, while he was CEO from 2017 through 2019.

At the second part of a preliminary hearing Tuesday, authorities, following a nearly three-year investigation, detailed a series of financial activity and bank transfers that they said showed Hynes used funds from UFD for personal benefits and then covered his tracks or left the company on the hook for loans.

The largest piece of the case involves a loan that helped secure $3.3 million from a state program. The money helped defray the costs of renovating UFD’s former headquarters at 210 York St. Prosecutors allege Hynes illegally used those funds to purchase new property instead of repaying the loan.

Hynes is also accused of doctoring invoices to disguise truck racing activities; creating app development paperwork to cover the use of company money for personal credit card bills; and taking a loan out in UFD’s name and then making it look like he loaned UFD that money.

He was charged in August with two felony counts of theft by failing to make required disposition of funds and theft by deception.

On Tuesday, attorneys with the York County District Attorney’s Office said they were amending the case to add two further counts of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, according to the Pennsylvania state code number that was cited.

The announcement came as Hynes’ preliminary hearing resumed in District Judge Thomas Harteis’ court.

This was the second day of a lengthy, two-part hearing. Testimony was initially given Nov. 21, and after about five hours, Judge Harteis called a halt and rescheduled the rest of the hearing.

When the case resumed Tuesday, witnesses included an FBI agent who assisted the Pennsylvania State Police in their investigation. The testimony was the first confirmation that the FBI was involved in the case.

The second part of the hearing went for about five-and-a-half-hours — or a total of 10+ hours for the preliminary hearing — before Judge Harteis decided the evidence was sufficient to present to a jury if the case goes to a trial.

He sent the case to the York County Court of Common Pleas, and he scheduled the formal arraignment for Hynes there for Jan. 16.

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

[Badman]

With all these charges against him, somethin's gotta stick.