Brittany Dingus of East Point received sentencing for multiple counts of credit card fraud.

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PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A Pike County man is facing criminal charges after he remained in an apartment after the resident went to rehab, while also using the man’s car and debit cards.

Pikeville Police were contacted Tuesday by the housing manager of Ridge Cliff Apartments after she noticed a man staying in an apartment, even though she hadn’t seen the resident in over a week. When she went to question the man, he refused to give his name or say where the apartment’s resident was.

When police went to talk to him, he identified himself as David Bauer, 60, of Pikeville. He told police he had been staying in the apartment for weeks and driving the resident’s car.

However, the resident had reported his car as stolen. Police then spoke with the resident’s sponsor, who had been in communication with the resident. He informed police the resident had previously allowed Bauer to drive his car, but he later told Bauer he was not welcome to use the car or his apartment after learning Bauer had taken some things from him.

Police placed Bauer under arrest for second-degree burglary and auto theft. After he was taken into custody, Bauer reportedly admitted to police that he had also used the resident’s debit card, which earned him a charge of fraudulent use of a credit card.

He is being held on a $2,000 cash bond.

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Prosecutors, defense team give opening arguments in the trial of suspended Pike circuit judge Howard Keith Hall.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — With the federal fraud and theft trial of a suspended Pike circuit judge now just a week away, the case has seen a flurry of activity.

Howard Keith Hall is charged with two counts of mail fraud and one count of theft of government funds.

Prosecutors allege that when Hall served as county attorney, he hired Shane Hall as an assistant county attorney and paid him $440,000 in salary and benefits over a 10-year period, despite performing little to no work for the office. The government says another part of the scheme was that Shane Hall’s law firm paid Howard Keith Hall more than half a million dollars in distributions from his law firm.

Judge Hall has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.

Judge Hall’s attorney had made motions to exclude the evidence of the payments from Shane Hall’s law firm, saying there was nothing improper about the payments and that the prosecution was attempting to make them appear to be bribes or kickbacks. A second motion sought to block prosecutors from introducing evidence that Judge Hall had paid other employees who performed little or no work.

On Friday, the judge denied both requests, allowing the government to use the evidence at trial.

Prosecutors have also filed a five-page list of exhibits they plan to introduce at trial. The list includes bank records for both Judge Hall and Shane Hall, text messages between the two men, payroll records and court filings.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Friday, with opening arguments taking place Monday in Frankfort federal court.

Copies of the orders denying the exclusion of evidence and the prosecution’s list of exhibits follow:

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — Now that a judge has ruled that the case will proceed, preparations for the federal fraud and theft trial of suspended Pike Circuit Judge Howard Keith Hall are moving forward.

Back in April, Hall was indicted on two counts of mail fraud and one count of theft of government funds dating back to his tenure as county attorney.

Prosecutors allege that during his time as county attorney, Hall appointed an assistant who did little to no work but still collected more than $440,000 in salary and benefits. They say Hall then received more than $500,000 in payments from the assistant’s law firm.

In July, Hall asked to have the indictment tossed out, but U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove ruled against that request last week.

Hall is now scheduled to go on trial on Nov. 10, in Frankfort federal court.

On Thursday, Judge Tatenhove scheduled jury selection to begin at 10 a.m., Friday, Nov. 7. Opening arguments will then begin at 10 a.m. the following Monday.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — A federal judge has denied a request from suspended Pike Circuit Judge Howard Keith Hall to dismiss the criminal charges against him.

Hall, a longtime former Pike County Attorney, was indicted in April on two counts of mail fraud and one count of theft of government funds. Prosecutors allege that during his time as county attorney, Hall appointed an assistant who did little to no work but still collected more than $440,000 in salary and benefits. They say Hall then received more than $500,000 in payments from the assistant’s law firm.

Hall’s attorneys argued the indictment should be thrown out, claiming Kentucky law does not set a minimum workload for part-time assistant county attorneys. But in a ruling issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove said the indictment clearly alleges facts that, if proven, would constitute federal crimes.

The court stressed that questions about the strength of the government’s evidence must be decided at trial, not in pretrial motions. Hall remains under indictment as the case proceeds toward trial.

The judge’s full ruling follows:

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The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office has issued a warning about a scam involving letters that are claiming residents owe back taxes.

The post Floyd County sheriff warns about tax letter scam appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Federal prosecutors have given notice of their intent to introduce evidence of additional criminal acts in their fraud and theft case against suspended Pike County Circuit Judge Howard Keith Hall.

Hall was indicted back in April on two counts of mail fraud and one count of theft of government funds dating back to his time as county attorney. The indictment alleges he misused the county attorney’s office payroll to pay an assistant county attorney who did little or no work approximately $440,000 in salary and benefits. That assistant has since been identified as Michael Shane Hall in court filings.

In a new court filing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says Hall ran similar schemes with two others employed by the county attorney’s office.

The filing says Hall hired a family member, identified as “C.H.,” as a part-time legal secretary for years with minimal work and temporarily removed them from the payroll during election cycles.

Prosecutors also claim Hall funneled about $3,000 per month to a 2019 family court judge candidate, identified in the filing as “J.H.,” as a way to support his campaign without making direct contributions. Those payments stopped once that candidate lost the election, the notice says. That year, current Family Court Judge Kent Varney defeated Justin Cory Hamilton in the general election.

Prosecutors say the new evidence demonstrates a broader scheme to misuse public funds and shows intent behind the original charges.

“The defendant’s ability to use the Pike County Attorney’s Office payroll to provide unearned paychecks to a family member and falsely certify to the PAC that this individual was working is directly probative of the crime charged,” the filing says. “His removal of this individual during election time also reflects consciousness of guilt. The Defendant’s use of PCAO funds to support a candidate for public office with a paycheck is admissible for the same reasons.”

Prosecutors did not announce any intention of seeking additional charges against Hall at this time, saying only that they plan to introduce the claims as evidence of additional bad acts showing Hall’s “motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, absence of mistake, or lack of accident.”

A full copy of the court filing follows:

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — Prosecutors have responded to a suspended Pike County judge’s motion to dismiss federal fraud charges against him, and, unsurprisingly, have reached a different conclusion.

Pike Circuit Judge Howard Keith Hall was indicted back in April on two counts of mail fraud and one count of theft of government funds.

The charges stem from his tenure as county attorney. He is accused of hiring an assistant county attorney, who Hall has identified as Michael Shane Hall, who prosecutors say was required to work at least 100 hours a month, but performed almost no work for the office. In exchange, prosecutors say Michael Shane Hall was paid more than $440,000 in salary and benefits over a 10-year period.

Attorneys for Howard Keith Hall filed a motion to dismiss the indictment last month, saying there is no statutory requirement that assistant county attorneys work any specific amount of time, much less 100 hours a month.

However, in their response, prosecutors included a copy of the Prosecutors Advisory Council Administrative Manuals, which state assistant county attorneys are required to work an annual average of 100 hours a month.

The prosecution’s objection to dismissing the case also notes that many of the arguments for dismissal raised by Howard Keith Hall’s team are actually matters that a jury should weigh.

Howard Keith Hall’s attorneys now have two weeks to file a reply to the government’s objection. After that, the judge will rule on the matter.

A full copy of the prosecution’s response can be found below:

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — Howard Keith Hall, the former Pike County attorney and currently suspended circuit court judge, is asking a federal court to dismiss his indictment for mail fraud and federal funds fraud.

His motion argues the charges are based on false premises — that part-time assistant county attorneys were required to work 100 hours per month and that he submitted false payroll certifications for Assistant County Attorney Michael Shane Hall,

Hall’s attorneys say no such hour requirement exists under Kentucky law, payroll forms accurately listed Hall as part-time, and Kentucky’s Court of Appeals has already ruled in a similar case that such conduct isn’t criminal. They also argue there was no material falsehood, federal law exempts bona fide salaries from prosecution, and Hall wasn’t an “agent” of the state agency controlling the funds.

There has been no response yet from the judge or prosecutors.

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