Former Tri-State Airport Official Sentenced to Prison for Theft of Federal Funds

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Melissa Sue Hall, 46, of South Point, Ohio, was sentenced today to five months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release with the first five months on home detention with electronic monitoring, for theft of federal funds. Hall was also ordered to pay $49,478.64 in restitution.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from September 2017 until January 8, 2021, Hall was the finance director of Huntington Tri-State Airport and responsible for the accounting, depositing and withdrawing of funds from multiple revenue sources including ATMs and vending machines. Hall admitted that between May 2020 and January 8, 2021, she stopped depositing the full amounts she collected from these machines into the airport’s bank accounts. Hall further admitted that she took money from those bank accounts intended for deposit in the ATMs. During this time period, Tri-State Airport received at least $10,000 per year in federal funding, which was deposited in its bank accounts. Hall admitted to diverting nearly $49,500.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Huntington Tri-State Airport Police and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Keefe prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-54.

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