Former Mall Owner Sentenced for Fraudulently Concealing Rents in Cha...

The managing member of a company that operated the Middleton Mall in Fairmont, West Virginia was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for bankruptcy and tax fraud.  Deitrich S. Fansler pleaded guilty in September, 2019 to one count of concealing assets in bankruptcy and one count of willfully failing to pay taxes.  According to this press release, Fansler collected rents from mall tenants, failed to deposit the rents into a debtor in possession account, and used approximately $225,000 of the funds for other purposes, concealing them from creditors.  Fansler also acknowledged failing to pay to the IRS withheld income taxes from employees of the operating company and another entity under his control, Villa Rentals, Inc.  In addition to the term of imprisonment, Fansler was ordered to pay $225,000 in restitution to the bankruptcy trustee, as well as $880,446.82 in restitution to the IRS.