As former CEO faces theft charges, the fall of Think Loud, leaves a field of unfulfilled promises Options

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As former CEO faces theft charges, the fall of Think Loud leaves a field of unfulfilled promises

Aimee Ambrose
York Dispatch
Published Nov 20

A decade ago, the enthusiasm for Think Loud and United Fiber and Data's plans for downtown York City was palpable.

City leaders hailed the glimmer of revitalization a decade ago when founding members of the rock band Live — Chad Taylor, Chad Gracey and Patrick Dahlheimer — and business partner Bill Hynes had stepped into the local spotlight as entrepreneurs with their new Think Loud brand of businesses and their key company, United Fiber and Data.

They talked up big investments, creating dozens of new jobs and transformation in the city. The project was so high-profile that it even garnered the support of then-Gov. Tom Corbett.

“Think Loud saw the promise that its involvement in downtown York could bring to revitalizing the community,” the Republican said, adding his imprimatur to a 2014 UFD news release. “This project will serve as a technology hub and bring good paying jobs back to the downtown.”

Properties like 210 York St., once known as the Think Loud building, the former York County Prison along Chestnut Street, and the former Metso Corp. plant along Arch Street would have formed points of a triangle as they factored into grand plans for constructing a thriving tech and entertainment center on the bones of nearby industrial lots.

Some of those plans came to fruition. However, at least of the buildings in that triangle sit vacant — and larger promises of revitalizing downtown York were left unfulfilled.

Theft charges: On Tuesday, Hynes will appear in a York County courtroom for a preliminary hearing on theft charges. Investigators allege Hynes stole $4 million that had been set aside for UFD. Hynes still maintains his innocence.

The work started with the renovation and overhaul of the former Bi-Comp Inc. building at 210 York St. into the group’s new headquarters with the name “Think Loud” on the side. Office space was also built in Allentown.

UFD, backed extensively by late philanthropist Louis Appell Jr., embarked on its purpose to build a data superhighway by installing a 340-mile fiber optic line from New York City to Ashburn, Virginia.

Appell, investigators say, poured at least $60 million into the company through loans and investments from 2012, when UFD was founded, until his death in 2016.

And then…

Almost everything crumbled.

The now-former Think Loud building still stands and is still in use, though the name has been changed under new ownership.

Hynes is still based there. UFD pulled up stakes and left town.

The former Metso plant, owned by Hynes, still sits on the other side of railroad tracks from 210 York. And the old jail, owned by UFD, is still a brick hulk looming over Chestnut Street.

Legal wrangling: Most of the action now takes place in the courts as the main figures in this saga fight in a contentious and convoluted business civil war over who robbed the companies’ future.

The latest battle has Hynes set to go before a district court judge, charged with two felony counts of theft.

Pennsylvania State Police allege the 51-year-old stole nearly $4.4 million from UFD and the Appell family, including funds tied into a state grant, from 2017 through 2019 during his role as CEO.

The preliminary hearing is expected to decide whether evidence is sufficient for a jury to hear if the case goes to trial on the county level.

The charges followed a three-year investigation based on reports made by UFD executives Chris Lodge and Andrew Paxton, as well as Lou Appell III, a board member who succeeded his father.

Paxton and Appell did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Taylor.

Hynes said he couldn’t comment.

'Blurs the lines of fairness:' Selena Sparks, a former chief marketing officer with UFD, criticized the investigation as one-sided since police didn’t interview her, Hynes or Gracey.

“It’s hard to form an unbiased examination of facts when using a version of the story that’s motivated more by corporate interests than the pursuit of justice,” she said. “It blurs the lines of fairness, leaving intentions that seem self-serving rather than impartial.”

Lodge and Paxton went to police in November 2020, one month after UFD and Appell filed a civil suit against Hynes, Taylor and Think Loud that made similar accusations.

The civil suit was settled in August 2022 and was followed by Hynes pleading no contest in an assault, stalking and forgery case involving an ex-girlfriend who was also a UFD employee. His arrest in that case in 2019 led to his resignation from UFD.

A flurry of civil litigation also poured into York County courts during the latter half of last year as those other cases were resolved. The lawsuits, led by Hynes in part, primarily targeted Taylor with allegations of fraud and financial mismanagement.

The state police filed their charges in August, putting allegations back on Hynes.

Series of events: Charging documents centered on five alleged series of events, based on Lodge, Paxton and Appell’s reports.

The big one involved money to secure a state grant during the renovation of the 210 York St. building.

Work started on the project in 2012, led by Kinsley Construction, costing between $14 million and $18 million when all was completed through at least 2018.

The now-white brick structure towers four stories above York Street, overlooking a small weedy field, railroad tracks and the former Metso plant.

Office spaces take up the first two floors, and UFD started out on the second story. The top floors boast a recording studio, fitness equipment, a big hangout area with a bar and temporary apartments.

To help get the building to its current state, Think Loud qualified initially for up to $5 million through the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. RACP works as an incentive for developers to have funds for project costs up front and then receive a reimbursement in what Sparks described as a complex program.

“The way the grant agreement was structured changed a few times to meet those new requirements, in addition to ensuring that the company would still be eligible for future state and federal incentives,” said Sparks, who helped oversee Think Loud’s RACP application. “Those who were not intimately involved in that process would not have known that, and as such, leaves space for wild interpretation.”

The 210 York St. renovation was eligible for a 50% match from the grant. The state funds, granted first to the York County Redevelopment Authority, were awarded to Think Loud, UFD and the company formed to own the property, 120 York LLC, in 2014, legal and charging documents show.

A grant agreement was then formed between the companies and the redevelopment authority in 2016. But, the businesses didn’t have the upfront money to take advantage of the grant, police alleged.

Line of credit: Hynes, they said, reached out to Appell III for assistance, and Appell agreed to extend a $5 million line of credit to 120 York for the project. A promissory note was also signed, stating UFD would be the one to repay the amount of whatever came through the RACP grant, charging documents show.

Appell then wired $4.03 million to 120 York through the first half of 2017, and the funds were then paid to Kinsley.

The amount matches the total for expenditures made from December 2016 through September 2017 in a payment request for the first phase of the project, according to state records.

UFD received close to $3.39 million from the reimbursement grant in June 2018, according to evidence Lodge showed police.

The funds were then transferred from UFD to a 120 York LLC bank account. From there, investigators said, most of the RACP money was dispersed into other related company accounts, including Think Loud brands.

The bulk of the money, $2.5 million, went into an account for another related property company, 240 Arch LLC. The name followed the group’s pattern of naming holding companies after property addresses, and 240 Arch St. is the address for the Metso plant.

Before the RACP grant came in, police alleged at least $375,000 was transferred from UFD accounts into other company accounts and to 240 Arch throughout 2017 and early 2018. The money was then paid to Metso and a real estate agency as Hynes worked to purchase the property, according to charging documents.

The sale closed in July 2018, with Hynes paying $2.05 million for the plant, county property records show.

Of that, police alleged Hynes told Appell’s wife, Chandra, during a text conversation a year later in 2019 that Appell let him use $1.7 million of the RACP funds for the purchase.

Chandra Appell had reached out to Hynes then to ask about the status of the RACP funds, and police accused him of claiming the funds hadn’t been released yet.

Appell III later told police that Hynes had asked him for the $1.7 million to buy the Metso property and that he would consider it once the RACP loan was repaid. But Appell said, according to charging documents, he never agreed to changing the terms of the loan.

Appell also said the loan hasn’t been paid back, and he denied he was offered any alternative reimbursement, such as partial ownership of the property.

Plans for data hub: What the charging documents don’t describe is the Metso property apparently factored into potential plans to redevelop that area into a data hub and entertainment complex.

York City officials applied for, though ultimately didn't win, a competitive state Community Revitalization Improvement Zone designation in late 2013. In the process, they included details for several local projects UFD plans for a $40 million data center at the former York County Prison at 319 Chestnut St.

Blanda Nace, the city’s chief opportunity development officer who was involved in that 2013 economic development process, said documents weren’t submitted with the application since when such applications mention plans, they’re more in the context of ideas.

“It was a planned project with no plans,” Nace said.

Members of Think Loud and UFD also often hinted at big money plans for York in articles from those early days.

As work to renovate the Think Loud building started coming to a close, 240 Arch LLC was registered first in January 2017. 319 Chestnut LLC, the holding company for the former prison, was then registered in October 2018, nearly two years later, state business data shows.

While Hynes is held up in articles and charging and court documents as the guy who bought the Metso plant, Andrew Paxton, now UFD’s president and lawyer, is the one who organized 240 Arch, business documents from the Pennsylvania Department of State show.

Another UFD manager is listed as the one who organized 319 Chestnut.

UFD, through the holding company, purchased the vacant prison from the city in November 2018, following a whole other controversy involving eminent domain.

The plan then was to renovate and revamp the crumbling red brick building into the data hub for the company’s fiber optic network. The city even closed York Street in anticipation of coming developments.

The Metso property was apparently intended to be transformed into an entertainment destination, while a substation on the property would have helped power the data hub, according to emails obtained from 240 Arch.

Hynes, in an email to Appell in January 2017, describes his plans to transform the Metso property into a concert venue and a “healthy active lifestyle center” that would include a World Gym, spa amenities and a cryogenic therapy company. Intentions to draw a casino to the site were discussed later.

Appell replied with, “Like it.”

Seeking assistance: Another exchange a year later shows Hynes asking Appell for assistance for the property.

He laid out that he has $325,000 of his cash on deposit and under a deadline to close by the end of the month. Hynes also discussed repayment options, including half his stock in another company, the email shows.

Appell replied by asking how much Hynes needed to close the deal. In his email, Appell warned he’s told people he’s not doing anything further until UFD is self-supporting, but he also didn’t want Hynes to lose his money or the property, the document shows.

Other emails from 240 Arch show Paxton also discussing purchasing the Metso property in 2018.

The communications indicate UFD leaders were aware of and part of the plans for the property. Charging documents, however, seem to suggest 240 Arch was considered a separate project.

Either way, plans for the Metso plant and the former prison never materialized as relationships apparently deteriorated within UFD and Think Loud.

The Metso property is said to have tenants leasing space inside.

Other legal actions: Hynes was charged in the assault case in November 2019, which led to his departure as CEO of UFD. Police said that the case led to the company conducting an internal investigation.

A year later, the civil suit was filed in October 2020. Lodge and Paxton then went to the state police with their allegations that November.

One of the complaints in the civil suit accused Hynes, Taylor, Gracey and Dahlheimer of using 120 York LLC, as the Think Loud building’s owner, to charge UFD above-market rent for a long-term lease there.

The complaint also alleged the size of the second-floor space set up for UFD was more than the company needed, adding to the costs.

At some point, apparently around the time of the suit, UFD left the building in York. The company’s website indicates executives are based in Allentown.

Kinsley Construction also sued 120 York in late 2020 for defaulting on $8.5 million, plus interest, on a $15 million construction loan for the renovation project.

120 York went into bankruptcy protection, and Kinsley eventually won a default judgment and took ownership of the building.

The issue was eventually resolved in late 2021 when Kinsley sold the building to Invictus One, a company that other litigation alleged was formed by two men affiliated with Hynes.

And that’s where things stand now: The once-Think Loud building under new ownership with another company leasing the space UFD once occupied. Hynes remains based there while owning the empty Metso plant outside his windows. UFD operates apparently outside York while still owning the former prison.

That’s just one story from the list of charges and allegations the state police filed.

Othe ventures: They also said Hynes used $275,000 in company funds to buy into and race at Stadium Super Trucks events through Indianapolis Motor Sports Productions. Hynes’ racing, according to the allegations, was considered his pastime and not approved by the company.

Lodge, in charging documents, alleged that Hynes bypassed entry fees by instead paying for racing TV production costs. Police said he took details out of invoices, changing them to show just “TV production,” allegedly as an indication the money for each event was used for UFD marketing.

In another situation, police alleged Hynes had an affiliated company, YRK LLC, which produced YRK Magazine, invoice UFD to the tune of $179,490 in July 2019. The bill was purportedly for a project by YRK to develop a new app that was never made, according to details in charging documents.

Lodge and Paxton, however, told police that Hynes spent about $180,000 on personal expenses using his UFD business credit card.

“When Hynes was asked by UFD board members as to what the money was spent on, he related that it was for software development related to YRK Magazine,” police state in charging documents.

Investigators then detailed a series of transfers from a UFD bank account to pay credit cards in Hynes’ name, as well as a later move where police said UFD funds cycled through two of Hynes’ accounts and back to UFD. They accused Hynes of making the transfers look like he was paying the company back with his own money.

The amounts of the transfers added up to match the amount on the YRK invoice.

Another allegation covered the transfer of a $50,000 certificate of deposit from a closed American Express account. The money went into a UFD bank account and then into one of Hynes’ personal accounts, police said.

Charging documents note Hynes repaid the money when the company asked about it.

'Skin in the game': The final set of allegations started with Appell III telling police he told Hynes he needed to put “skin in the game” when he asked for another loan to help support the company in 2019.

Appell told police he challenged Hynes to front a $500,000 loan to UFD, and that he would match the amount with a similar loan.

Police alleged Hynes turned to a trust and asked for a $500,000 loan to meet Appell’s challenge. When he got the money, Hynes transferred it to a UFD account as police alleged he set it up to look like he made a personal loan, according to charging documents.

Appell then matched the amount. Police alleged there’s no indication either loan was repaid.

Investigators spoke to Paxton, Lodge and Appell, along with Chief Financial Officer Doug Schultz, as UFD representatives, similar to the 2020 civil suit. A bookkeeper and an IT contractor were also interviewed.

Police also spoke to Taylor and Dahlheimer, charging documents show. They’re shown in other current lawsuits as on opposite sides of Hynes and Gracey.

The charging documents don’t indicate whether investigators reached out to also speak to Hynes, Gracey or Sparks.

Gracey and Sparks both said they were never contacted.

“It's deeply troubling that, despite having potentially vital information, the police neglected to interview crucial witnesses like myself. This raises serious concerns about the integrity of the entire process, potentially influencing the investigation,” Gracey said in a statement. “It's essential that justice be served impartially and without any undue influence.”

Hynes’ preliminary hearing is scheduled to be held in District Judge Thomas Harteis’ court.

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

https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/loc...of/71610530007/