WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

MARTINSBURG – A Jefferson County woman faces a $250,000 default judgment in a lawsuit that alleged she help steal 43 cars belonging to an organization that helps Purple Heart recipients from an auto auction, but she apparently isn’t facing criminal charges.

A lawsuit brought in 2011 by the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation said 43 automobiles that it was putting up for auction at the Winchester Auto Dealers Exchange were stolen by Pamela Hernandez, an employee at Wade.

The lawsuit, filed in Berkeley Circuit Court against WADE, was settled in July, though Wade had filed its own complaint against Hernandez and was awarded a default judgment.

On March 27, an order to enforce the default judgment against Hernandez was entered by Berkeley Circuit Judge Christopher Wilkes.

Wilkes called for Hernandez to pay $250,000, plus pre-judgment interest of $47.94 since July 9, though it is unclear if Hernandez will be able to satisfy the judgment.

The Winchester Auto Dealers Exchange agreed in July to pay the Purple Heart Service Foundation $75,000 to settle the lawsuit, which began after WADE says it discovered one of its employees was working the computer system and stealing cars.

The alleged theft occurred in 2009.

The Purple Heart Service Foundation accepts cars from the donating public, then sells them to help financially support its mission. It had given WADE 43 cars worth as much as $170,000 to sell.

Hernandez, of Ranson, allegedly altered computer entries to make it appear the vehicles had been sold by entering bills of sale in order to print gate passes for the cars, but after they were stolen she voided the sales.

She never filed a response to WADE’s third-party complaint, leading to the default judgment being granted on April 26.

WADE says it discovered the scheme on Jan. 22, 2010. It submitted a claim to its insurer and was paid $50,000.

Neither Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely nor the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia, which has an office in Martinsburg, have pursued criminal charges against Hernandez.

Games-Neely did not return a message seeking comment, while Chris Zumpetta-Parr, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, verified there are no federal criminal charges filed against Hernandez.

The Purple Heart Service Foundation's complaint was filed Aug. 2, 2011, by Gregory T. St. Ours of Harrisonburg, Va.

From the West Virginia Record: Reach John O’Brien at jobrienwv@gmail.com.