Mr. Hatfield, 62, who is also a former mayor of Williamson, pleaded guilty May 30 to theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
He became Williamson Memorial’s interim CEO in September 2018 and permanent CEO until his dismissal in September 2019. On May 16, 2019, he used $9,197.62 in hospital funds to settle personal debts, according to prosecutors. Shortly before his dismissal, on Sept. 25, 2019, he transferred $25,675 in hospital funds to his real estate company, knowing the hospital could not fully fund employee benefits. Hatfield admitted using the funds for personal obligations without board approval.
Mr. Hatfield also admitted that he never requested or received authorization from the hospital’s board of directors or anyone else at the hospital to direct the payments from the hospital to himself. He was also Williamson’s mayor until resigning on May 3, 2024, due to this offense.
On Oct. 21, 2019, shortly after Mr. Hatfield’s dismissal, the 76-bed hospital filed for bankruptcy. The filing came about 17 months after being divested by Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems.
“Today’s sentence provides a general deterrence for abusing a position of trust to steal and embezzle funds from a federally funded hospital,” U.S. Attorney Will Thompson said in a Jan. 16 statement.
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