A former executive director of MultiFest, the annual cultural festival in Charleston, could spend 21 months in prison for federal income tax fraud.
Deborah Starks, 55, from Cross Lanes was sentenced on Tuesday.
She did not report more than $300,000 she had stolen from MultiFest on her taxes over a five year period. At the time, Starks was serving as MultiFest’s treasurer and handling the organization’s bank accounts.
“Stealing $300,000 from a small business or charity could easily put that organization out of business,” U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said in a statement following the sentencing.
“That’s why my office has focused on investigating and prosecuting cases like these, to protect small businesses and charities and to send a clear message that stealing from them won’t be tolerated.”
Starks has admitted to writing personal checks to herself and others and withdrawing cash from the MultiFest accounts using checks and ATM transactions.
She has been ordered to pay restitution for the full amount to MultiFest and to the Internal Revenue Service.