Bridge Hope says Williams Karns stiffed them on $2M loan

A faith-based social services provider says a prominent Treasure Island developer stiffed the organization on a $2-million loan while serving as vice president.

Bridge Hope Stabilization Programs says William Karns, of William Karns Enterprises, pulled a $2 million line of credit in May 2016, about a month after taking on the role of vice president. But Karns never repaid the loan.

Texas-based TV Fund has since taken over the defaulted loan and just sued Karns and his company for the full amount, plus interest.

Karns may be best known as the force behind the Madeira Beach Town Center, a controversial hotel and condo development that’s also been the subject of litigation.

The project was the subject of two lawsuits settled in litigation last year, according to Tampa Bay Newspapers. Karns initially planned to build the hotels at 11 stories and the condo buildings at eight stories but scaled down the project to address neighbor concerns.

The loan from Bridge Hope, then called InsideOut Community Ministries, would have happened about nine months before the project’s approval.

Bridge Hope, based in St. Petersburg, runs programs catering specifically to military families, but its website says it held any family in crisis “from disabled veterans to domestic violence victims and families with children.” The flagship program, according to the Bridge Hope’s website, is a housing program helping veterans in need and has put clients in single-family homes across the nation.

It’s unclear whether the organization had the legal authority to issue a personal loan, especially to one of its executives.

Karns previously served as the organization’s treasurer before taking on the vice president role. The most recent annual report for Bridge Hope no longer lists him as an officer.

It isn’t the first time leadership for Bridge Hope made headlines. President Randy Fuchs in 2015 got arrested for soliciting an undercover police officer in St. Petersburg for oral sex, according to TBO.com.