Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Walter Eugene Hoffman, president of the now-defunct Hill Brothers Shoe Co. in Lynchburg, was charged Wednesday with eight counts of wire fraud, 32 counts of mail fraud and one count of bank fraud.
Hoffman, who lived in the Roanoke Valley for a short time, now lives in Michigan.
The indictment charges that Hoffman, 60, schemed to steal money from Hill Brothers customers by accepting merchandise orders the company could not fill.
The indictment also charges that Hoffman failed to tell customers that many orders weren't filled, and also that the company did not make refunds on the orders that were never filled.
Thousands of customers in 1991 and 1992 logged complaints for merchandise that was never delivered, assistant U.S. attorney Tom Eckert said.
In 1992, before the company went out of business, the U.S. Postal Service stopped the company's mail service.
This is the second time Hoffman has been indicted by a federal grand jury this year.
In February, he was charged in a 10-count indictment with money laundering and misapplying bank funds. Those charges were related to a 1980s loan scheme that left several local banks with thousands of dollars in worthless loans.
A trial on those charges is scheduled for December.
by CNB