A bad check led to Friday's arrest of a Charleston man who owns both a drug treatment center and a checkered past.
One former nurse at New Beginnings Drug Treatment Center reported the owner, William Mucklow, 50, to authorities.
Kanawha sheriff's deputies arrested Mucklow after he allegedly failed to compensate Lisa Hanger for two pay periods, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
Hanger is one of more than 20 employees who lost their job at the facility's inpatient center when Mucklow unexpectedly laid them off on May 4.
The inpatient facility is located in Cross Lanes, and a related outpatient facility is located at the rear of Mucklow's tax preparation business in South Charleston.
None of the employees had received their last paycheck. At least 10 people then complained to the state Division of Labor, which is now investigating the complaints.
Along with not receiving her most recent paycheck, Hanger has yet to receive the money from a previous pay period. JPMorgan Chase Bank returned the paycheck for $1,415 on May 3.
Shortly after the layoffs, Mucklow told Hanger "a partner had pulled out of the business but he would pay her the next week when he had the money," the complaint states.
Though Mucklow declined to comment Friday, he previously said he owes the former staff about $30,000 in total. He said he plans to pay the employees by July 1.
"The department of labor is happy with that, and so is the prosecuting attorney," he said at the time.
He is now facing a felony charge of obtaining property in return for a worthless check. If convicted, the charge carries a minimum sentence of one year in jail.
In 2006, Mucklow pleaded guilty pleaded to two counts of battery. Several caretakers said he posed as someone with a mental illness and the behavior of an infant.
The caregivers said Mucklow sometimes groped their breasts and soiled his diapers. In a past interview, Deborah McCorey said she took care of Mucklow when he was 37 years old.
Mucklow, impersonating his own mother on the phone, offered McCorey $40,000 a year and insurance to babysit the "son," according to a lawsuit filed after McCorey discovered the truth.
"He would want to lay his head on my chest, and he said 'I'll go to sleep if you let me rub your boob,'" she said in a past interview.
Magistrate Warren McGinnis sentenced Mucklow to one year of home confinement in 2006. As part of a plea deal, the prosecutor's office agreed to drop charges of fraudulent schemes and obtaining under false pretenses.
After the recent layoffs at his inpatient treatment center, several nurses said Mucklow offered them stock in the company instead of payment.
"Which is a perfectly accepted thing to do," Mucklow said in a recent interview.
Hanger said she is owed for the last 148 hours she worked at New Beginnings Drug Treatment Center. Hanger, citing past accusations of fraud and deception against Mucklow, said she may never be paid.
"I feel like he has taken advantage of the most vulnerable people in this state, which is addicts," she said. "And he's taking advantage of other people in this state who are heroes, you know, who want to help these people."
Reach Giuseppe Sabella at giuseppe.sabella@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @Gsabella on Twitter.