The mayor of Haysi was arrested after being indicted this week on eight credit card fraud and embezzlement charges, according to the Virginia State Police.
Larry D. Yates, 72, faces felony charges of embezzlement, use of public assets for personal benefit, credit card fraud, receiving goods obtained through credit card fraud and two counts of credit card theft, according to a statement from the Virginia State Police. He was also indicted on two misdemeanor charges of credit card fraud and receiving goods obtained through credit card fraud, both under $1,000, according to online records.
A Dickenson County grand jury handed down the indictments on Monday, state police said.
Special agents with the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Wytheville Field Office arrested Yates on Thursday. A spokesperson for the records department at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority said Yates was brought into the authority’s Haysi location at 5 p.m., and then transferred to the Abingdon facility later that night.
Yates is expected to appear in Dickenson County Circuit Court on Tuesday, according to the statement.
Matthew Demlein, a state police spokesperson, said that the investigation is ongoing and that he could not comment on whether the charges are connected to town business. Virginia code states that any investigation of an elected official must go through the governor, attorney general or a grand jury.
The Virginia Department of Elections records show Yates was first elected mayor in 2012.
The town council posted a statement to the town’s Facebook page saying the news is difficult for the Haysi community. Haysi is one of three incorporated towns in Dickenson County.
In the statement, the council said it has “taken steps to strengthen our town’s financial and administrative safeguards” over the past several months.
“Because the individual involved is an elected public official, the process for addressing these matters has involved legal and procedural requirements that the Town Council is obligated and required to respect. The Council has acted within its legal authority and followed the procedures available to it during this process,” the statement said.
“The criminal charges announced today are matters for the appropriate law-enforcement agencies and courts … we want to be unequivocal about our responsibility going forward: the Town Council will continue taking every appropriate step to protect public funds, strengthen internal controls, improve accountability, and ensure that town government operates in the best interests of our residents.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
