UPDATE: Dr. Dane Miller Sues Former Business Partner
An amended lawsuit is expected to be filed in Kosciusko County Superior Court 1 by week’s end and it may accuse a former Winona Lake developer of theft, fraud and conversion.
On Dec. 21, 2011, Dr. Dane Miller filed the initial case against his former business partner, Brent Wilcoxson. The two men formed The Winona Restoration Company in March 1996, with Miller owning at least 95 percent of the limited liability company.
In the initial lawsuit, Miller says he revoked Wilcoxson’s authority in the business on Nov. 2, 2011, ” … because questions concerning the appropriateness of the defendant’s operation of the company were discovered.”
When Miller took over the day-to-day managerial operations of WRC, he found it apparent that books and records pertaining to the business were incomplete or missing. In attempts to get Wilcoxson to produce the missing documents, court records show Miller has been ignored.
Miller told StaceyPageOnline.com that the lawsuit will see more developments by the end of the week, but said he was not at liberty to discuss those developments.
Several sources tell StaceyPageOnline.com that Wilcoxson allegedly used his authority to transfer ownership of several of Miller’s properties to his own nonprofit business. It is rumored more than 17 properties were unlawfully obtained by Wilcoxson. Miller would not confirm or deny those claims.
However, StaceyPageOnline.com has obtained documentation that seems to prove those claims.
In 2006, Wilcoxson formed his own nonprofit corporation known as Winona Arts Restoration and Preservation Inc. According to current information from the National Center for Charitable Statistics, W.A.R.P. has total assets of over $4.5 million. Internal Revenue Service Form 990, filed by Brent Wilcoxson in 2006, shows he founded the nonprofit with just over $4 million in assets.
In that same year that W.A.R.P. was established, county records show a number of property transfers to Wilcoxson’s nonprofit organization from Winona Restoration Company noting Wilcoxson as both the seller and the buyer. The properties total more than $4 million.
Miller is a Winona Lake resident who is responsible for investing more than $20 million in renovations to the lake community and bringing the Village at Winona to life under the WRC.
Wilcoxson, who has allegedly moved to Michigan, is working as an independent real estate developer and manager. The lawsuit will likely seek recovery of properties and damages.
In 1994, WRC took on the challenge of restoring some of the lost glory to Winona Lake. The purchase of the original Assembly grounds and the restoration of nearly 30 properties into a historic summer resort led to an economic resurgence of the community and was done with Dr. Miller’s money.
In 2002, The Indiana Association of Cities and Towns awarded Dr. Miller the 2002 IACT annual award for civic service for his contributions to the town of Winona Lake.