CHARLESTON — A mother and her daughters are suing a man and several companies for fraud and negligence when managing their assets.
Robert J. Wilmink, Angela B. Wilmink, Appalachian Milk Soap, Appalachian Natural Resources, Baw Investment, Collar Jerkers, CJ Energy, Creston Oil, IHS Land Management, Jay Gas Corporation, Legacy Asset Strategies, Ready Valve, RJW Oil & Gas, Trinity Natural Resources, Wilmink Consulting, Wilmink Farm, and Wilmink Financial Group were all named as defendants in the suit.
Mikeal J. Withrow is stepmother to Shelby Brieann Huffman and the natural mother of Kirsten Madison Klink and Withrow's late husband died in 2008 when he was killed on the job working for Bayer Corporation, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Withrow claims she received a significant sum on money for a wrongful death claim regarding her husband, was well as a significant sum from a life insurance policy for her late husband and she was approached by Robert Wilmink, whom she already knew, and he persuaded her to allow him to manage her assets and/or invest the settlement proceeds and life insurance proceeds on her behalf.
The defendants persuaded Withrow to execute a durable power of attorney in favor of Robert Wilmink and the settlement proceeds were then transferred to him under the guise that the funds would not be touched and that he would manage and/or invest the money for each of the plaintiffs and take care of them, according to the suit. The life insurance proceeds were also transferred to him.
"At all relevant times, Defendant Robert J. Wilmink acted in the role of Fiduciary, Trustee and/or Attorney-in-Fact with respect to each of the Plaintiffs," the complaint states. "Upon information and belief, Defendant Robert J. Wilmink thereafter breached his fiduciary duties, converted the assets of the Trusts and the Life Insurance Proceeds for his own use and/or for the use of his wife, defrauded Plaintiffs, and/or otherwise mishandled the monies entrusted to him by Plaintiffs."
In September 2017, Robert Wilmink "loaned" $355,000 of Withrow's funds to Jay Gas without her knowledge, according to the suit.
Withrow claims she recently became suspicious and began reaching out to him about the status of the trusts and/or her finances and he has refused to provide any substantive information regarding the monies entrusted to him and has refused to return the assets or provide an accounting despite repeated requests.
Withrow claims the defendants breached their fiduciary duty, committed fraud and were negligent.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. They are represented by William J. Hanna and James C. Stebbins of Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso PLLC in Charleston.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 23-C-779
