ELKINS – A federal lawsuit claims a Hardy County commissioner used the criminal justice system as a personal debt collection tool, orchestrating 18 felony indictments against a prominent family before moving the resolution to keep the prosecutions going as he held a $14,800 creditor claim against that family.
John W. Crites Sr., John W. Crites Jr. and Kelly S. Crites filed their civil right and civil RICO lawsuit April 28 against the Hardy County Commission, Commissioner David S. “Jay” Fansler, Commission President Steven Schetrom II, Commissioner David Workman as well as Hardy County Sheriff Steve Dawson.
The Crites family owned Allegheny Wood Products. Last year, a special prosecutor announced all criminal charges against the family have been dropped. The case stemmed from the company being placed into receivership and assets being sold.
Sponaugle
“This is exactly the kind of corruption you expect to see in a movie, not in a West Virginia courthouse,” attorney Isaac Sponaugle said. “A sitting Hardy County Commissioner with a personal debt to collect turned the Hardy County Sheriff’s Office and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office into his own private collection agency.
“When the family refused to pay him off, he didn’t back down – he escalated. Two charges against one man became eighteen felony indictments across 18 separate cases against a father, a son and a daughter.
“That is not law enforcement. That is extortion with a badge, and it is going to be answered for in federal court.”
Allegheny Wood Products was an Appalachian hardwood company founded and operated by John W. Crites Sr. At its peak, AWP operated 13 facilities and employed more than 800 people.
In February 2024, United Bankshares placed sudden account freezes on AWP’s bank accounts holding $4 to $5 million without prior notice. Outstanding checks were dishonored as a direct result. The next month, AWP was placed under federal receivership. That order specifically enjoined creditors from taking action against AWP’s officers and expressly prohibited government entities from taking adverse action against AWP officers solely by reason of the company’s insolvency.
Formal notice of the federal receivership was served March 18, 2024. Seven days later, the Hardy County Sheriff filed the first criminal complaints against John W. Crites Jr.
According to the civil complaint, Fansler created the scheme. Fansler held the $14,800 vendor/creditor claim in the federal receivership of Allegheny Wood Products through his family trucking business while using his official governmental authority as a county commissioner to direct the criminal prosecution of the Crites family, according to the complaint.
Before any charges were filed, former Hardy County Prosecuting Attorney Lucas J. See communicated an extortionate demand to counsel for the Crites family: criminal prosecution of all three family members would not proceed if Crites Jr. directly paid the outstanding creditor claims. When the family refused to cede, they claim the charges did not stop.
In fact, they say they multiplied.
Two criminal complaints against one man became 18 felony indictments against the family.
When a Hardy County magistrate found no probable cause and dismissed the initial complaints in April 2024, the complaint alleges the defendants simply bypassed the magistrate by presenting the cases directly to a grand jury. The grand jury then returned 18 felony indictments – six against each plaintiff – charging false pretenses and conspiracy to commit false pretenses.
In December 2024, See executed a joint stipulation in which the state conceded that it had no evidence any plaintiff knew about the bank freeze — a required element of every charge. Two days later, U.S. District Judge Thomas Kleeh granted removal of the criminal cases to federal court. By the end of the month, the state had admitted in writing that there was no evidence and the cases were pending in federal court.
But then, on January 15, 2025, the county commission had a special emergency meeting where Dawson presented information about the criminal cases. Fansler moved the resolution. All three commissioners voted in favor and signed it. The Crites family says they were given no notice of this meeting.
“Fansler’s personal pecuniary interest as one of the named ‘victims’ was not disclosed on the face of the resolution, was not addressed in the commission’s minutes and was not the subject of any recusal,” the complaint states.
The next day, newly elected Hardy County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey N. Weatherholt filed a formal motion in federal court asking that his office be disqualified from the prosecution. Kleeh granted that motion and appointed Pocahontas County Prosecutor Megan Kershner.
On March 21, 2025, Kershner moved to dismiss every indictment. Kleeh granted that motion the same day.
“The most damning fact in this case is that Commissioner Fansler personally moved the resolution that ordered continued prosecution of his own debtors – a resolution that names him as one of the ‘victims’ entitled to vindication through criminal charges,” Sponaugle said.
The Crites say they have incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in criminal defense costs and attorney fees, bail and bond costs, lost business revenue and contracts, lost business opportunities, destruction of business and professional relationships, severe emotional distress including fear of imprisonment, disruption of family relationships and reputational harm. Kelly Crites also says she suffered harm to her professional reputation and the threat to her law license because of the felony indictments.
“The Crites family did nothing wrong,” Sponaugle said. “The State of West Virginia admitted that in writing. A federal judge dismissed every single one of these charges with prejudice.
“The Hardy County good-old-boys thought they could run a debt-collection scheme out of the courthouse and get away with it. They were wrong.
“Today, the Crites family is holding them accountable – and asking a federal jury to make sure no other West Virginia family ever has to go through this again.”
The Crites accuse the defendants of Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution and unreasonable seizure (Fansler and Dawson), racketeering, Monell municipal liability (Commission and Dawson), due process (Fansler, Schetrom and Workman), retaliatory prosecution (Fansler and Dawson), malicious prosecution, abuse of process, negligence, civil conspiracy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The Crites are being represented by Sponaugle of Sponaugle & Sponaugle in Franklin. The civil case also has been assigned to Kleeh.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia case number 2:26-cv-00020
