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Hatfield admitted in court Thursday that while chief executive officer of Williamson Memorial Hospital he stole $34,872.62 in hospital funds for personal use and without authorization. He agreed to pay restitution in the same amount.

During the plea agreement hearing, Hatfield said there were two instances of transactions from one of the Williamson Memorial Hospital accounts to his personal account �����Ƶ� a May 2019 transfer of $9,197.62 to satisfy a lawsuit in Florida for delinquent taxes and other fees on a condo property, and another transfer in September 2019 of $25,675 to pay for delinquent mortgages and other fees on a Mingo County property.

Hatfield said in court he used one of the three bank accounts the hospital had for these personal transactions, and that account happened to be the one where Medicare and Medicaid payments were received.

Williamson Memorial Hospital filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 21, 2019, before closing its doors on April 21, 2020 �����Ƶ� just one month into the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was noted during the plea agreement hearing that, at the time of the second transaction in September 2019, Hatfield was aware the hospital could not fund its employee benefit programs and retirement due to financial hardship. The hospital initially announced its impending closure in March 2020, according to Williamson Daily News reports, and said it was operating as a debtor-in-possession in a bankruptcy case.

Hatfield resigned from his position as mayor on May 3, stating at the time he was not forced to resign, but instead did it out of the best interest to the city.

�����Ƶ�First of all, I�����Ƶ�m not being forced or coerced to do this,�����Ƶ� Hatfield said. �����Ƶ�I�����Ƶ�m doing it voluntarily. I have matters that I was involved in with the hospital, as we all know, back �����Ƶ� it�����Ƶ�s been four years ago. Things there just went the way they did, and I can�����Ƶ�t comment any further. I hope you appreciate that, because there�����Ƶ�s legalities involved. My decision to go ahead and do this resignation was I want the city, as I always have, to continue to progress and to do good, and to do that you have to not have all kinds of distractions. There�����Ƶ�s no question my situation would be a distraction from the good things this city in on the way to.�����Ƶ�

After the hearing Thursday, Hatfield was deemed to not be a flight risk and released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.

Sentencing for Hatfield has been scheduled for Sept. 12. He faces up to 10 years in prison, as well as up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.