Man Guilty Of Embezzling $1.4 M Now Charged With SBA Loan Theft

WEST CHESTER, PA — A West Chester man who was convicted in December of embezzling $1.4 million from a group of homeowners associations is now charged with fraudulently securing $1.25 million in Small Business Association Loans.

The Chester County District Attorney's Office today charged William C. Huyler III, 42, of West Chester, with theft by deception, forgery, and related charges for fraudulently securing Small Business Administration (SBA) loans from Wilmington Savings Fund Society, totaling $1.25 million.

Huyler was convicted for stealing $1.4 million in another case prosecuted in Chester County. In December 2020, he pleaded guilty to stealing $1.4 million from eight Homeowner Associations (HOAs) located in Chester County, Montgomery County, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Huyler is awaiting sentencing in Chester County in that case. The details of the criminal complaint for the new charges show the crimes to be entangled.

District Attorney, Deb Ryan, said, "The defendant’s greed is unparalleled. He took advantage of a multitude of victims and betrayed their trust for his own financial benefit. Our detectives have worked tirelessly over the past two years to account for all his illegal activities. My office will hold him accountable for every dollar and prosecute him to the full extent of the law."

The D.A.'s complaint against Huyler alleges he sought an SBA loan from WSFS for $750,000 that he secured with a life insurance policy worth the same amount, starting in May 2017, as the principal owner of East Hill Property Manangement, LLC (EHPM).

The criminal complaint alleges Huyler falsely portrayed EHPM as a successful property management firm catering to HOAs across the region that wanted to expand.

Huyler projected first-year profits in excess of $500,000 and second-year profits over $900,000, the complaint states. He allegedly submitted false financial documents and tax returns to support his application. Those documents showed significant past and future growth for EHPM. In reality, the company had become so unprofitable in early 2017 that Huyler embezzled nearly $1.4 million from his HOA clients, the criminal complaint alleges.

The terms of the $750,000 loan specified that the funds be used to refinance an existing First Home Bank debt, building improvements, and nearly $300,000 in working capital. The loan was approved on Aug. 29, 2017, according to the district attorney's report.

The report continues, stating the following day the defendant sought a second SBA loan to finance two new businesses, East Hill Real Estate and Creighton Financial. Since both were startup companies, no earnings reports were included in the application, only projections.

The defendant allegedly secured this loan with a second lien on his residence in West Chester. The residence already had an $845,000 lien against it, plus the defendant managed to get another $155,000 mortgage with BOFI Federal Bank after WSFS had completed its title search, the criminal complaint states.

The $500,000 SBA loan was approved on Apr. 12, 2018, according to the D.A.'s report.

Huyler has been released on $250,000 unsecured bail.

His preliminary hearing is set for March 17, at 11 a.m.

Chester County Det. Lt. Robert Dougherty handled the investigation. Prosecutors Ron Yen and John McCaul are assigned to the case.

Anyone with further information concerning this investigation is asked to call the Chester County Detectives at 610-344-6866.