MultiFest Co-Founder Pleads Guilty

{Charleston, West Virginia}…Deborah Starks, 55, of Cross Lanes, co-founder of the Charleston MultiFest festival, pleaded guilty Friday to income tax fraud. She admitted to embezzling more than $300,000 from the MultiCultural Festival of WV Inc., the group that runs MultiFest, between 2005 and 2010 and failing to report it, along with another $200,000 in revenue, on her income tax return. A sentencing hearing is set for April 2nd. For tax fraud, Starks faces up to three years in prison to be followed by a year of supervised release, plus a $250,000 fine. She will also have to pay full restitution to MultiFest, as well as $128,626 to the IRS.