Investigators say he stole from customers and his brother; Kennewick businessman charged

The owner of a Kennewick flooring company is accused of asking employees to lie and forging his brother’s signature on contracts worth $536,000 total.

Michael J. Hillman, 40, also allegedly took a $13,000 payment from a customer knowing he couldn’t follow through on the order because of his own unpaid debt to the supplier.

He has pleaded innocent in Benton County Superior Court to first-degree criminal impersonation, first-degree theft and four counts of forgery.

Trial is set for March 19.

Hillman was arrested Jan. 2, then released from jail after posting $5,000 bond.

Online records with the state Department of Revenue show the business account for Factory Direct Floorings was closed Nov. 1.

Hillman and his brother, James, reportedly opened the 321 N. Columbia Center Blvd. store under Abacus CRM, a limited liability company.

Michael Hillman also is a general contractor with Bella Homes Washington in Kennewick. The Department of Revenue shows the business account is open, but the state Department of Labor & Industries says their construction contractor license was suspended in July for not meeting licensing requirements.

Prosecutors allege that in March 2015, Hillman entered into a commercial credit application with ProBuild and signed Steve Rhoten’s name on the loan as a personal guarantor.

Rhoten, his business partner at Bella Homes Washington, told investigators his name was forged on that document.

James Hillman told Kennewick police Detective Marco Monteblanco that it was not his personal signature on several written contracts with Abacus and Factory Direct Floorings for equipment and supplies, including provisions that he personally guarantees payment, court documents said.

A lease agreement with Axis Capital in June 2016 called for 60 payments of $1,223 per month.

An equipment finance agreement in the fall of 2016 guaranteed the Hillmans would pay $1,148 per month over 59 months for the purchase of a 2007 Bobcat and a 2001 U-Haul trailer. The witnesses on the contract with M2 Lease included Michael Hillman’s minor daughter and a man who claimed that his signature was forged, documents showed.

Abacus agreed to pay $394,636 for the purchase of equipment from “bizfi” in three contracts between November 2015 and September 2016.

Two employees at Factory Direct Floorings said they were asked by Hillman to pose as a business owner and take phone calls from potential vendors or creditors wanting to check Hillman’s business status, said court documents.

One of the employees, who claimed to have a tile company, said she received a few calls from vendors seeking information on Hillman, documents said. The other employee said no one called her under the assumed identity.

Another employee alleged they were asked to create fake invoices for payments, even though nothing had been paid.

A flooring customer gave $13,000 to the business in December 2016, then repeatedly contacted Hillman over the next year to find out the status of his merchandise. Each time, Hillman said he would order the materials but had yet to do it as of the filing of his criminal charges on Dec. 29, court documents said.

The customer at one point contacted the flooring manufacturer and was told they “would no longer do business with (Hillman) because of an unpaid debt,” documents said.

Deputy Prosecutor Terry Bloor wrote that Hillman’s inability to meet payroll and other bills, his requests of employees to falsify invoices and misrepresent themselves to vendors and his need to forge signatures all is evidence that he did not intend to complete that customer’s job.

This story was originally published January 6, 2018 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Investigators say he stole from customers and his brother; Kennewick businessman charged."