BECKLEY, WV – Yesterday, Robert Martin, 67, former CEO of Citizens Conservation Corp (CCC), pleaded guilty to fraudulent receipt of property from a debtor. The plea was entered in the context of his unauthorized personal payment from CCC funds, which operated West Virginia’s Courtesy Patrol.
Martin, who led CCC since its inception in 1993, faced financial instability following the loss of a state contract in 2018. This led to CCC’s bankruptcy filing in April 2019. Despite claiming no income and no salary during a May 2019 bankruptcy creditors meeting, Martin illicitly transferred $50,000 from CCC’s bank account on May 10, 2019, subsequently paying himself $32,072.76.
Furthermore, Martin admitted to misusing $108,751.60 from the U.S. Department of Interior National Parks Service (NPS), funds originally intended to hire interns at national parks. Instead, these funds were diverted for CCC’s operational costs post-contract loss.
Martin’s sentencing is set for May 3, 2024. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Additionally, Martin owes $37,072.76 in restitution to the U.S. Trustee and up to $251,171.20 to the NPS.
The case was brought to attention by the U.S. Trustee’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia and prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Will Thompson. The FBI and the DOI-OIG conducted the investigation. The United States Trustee Program, part of the Department of Justice, oversees bankruptcy case administration and enforces bankruptcy laws.