Staff photo / Ed Runyan Some of the people who attended the sheriff sale Tuesday that included the sale of the Flats at Wick student-housing complex on Madison Avenue are shown. Jeanna Weaver, third to the left, is an attorney who represents U.S. Bank, which made the winning offer of $5.1 million.

YOUNGSTOWN — U.S. Bank, the lender that sued developer Dominic Marchionda and his wife in 2019, saying they defaulted on their $5.5 million loan for the Flats at Wick student-housing complex on Madison Avenue, purchased the complex at sheriff sale Tuesday for $5.1 million.

The Flats sale was the headliner of the regular monthly sheriff’s sale in the commissioners meeting room in the Mahoning County Courthouse with an appraised value of $5.7 million and a minimum bid of $3.8 million.

The complex was at the heart of a Youngstown public bribery scandal involving the company Flats at Wick LLC, with the Marchiondas as the managing members and guarantors.

Several bidders worked upward from the minimum, bidding $100,000 increments until Attorney Jeanna Weaver of Columbus, who represents U.S. Bank, offered $5.1 million, and no other bids came.

“Sold back to the plaintiff for $5.1 million,” deputy Tammy Ginnetti said, banging the gavel.

Many of the people attending the sheriff sale left the room after the 90-second auction, including Weaver, who said she could not discuss any plans the bank might have for the property.

It was not clear who most of the other bidders were, other than Nathan Bibb of Hometown Fixer Upper of Poland, who said his company has bought smaller apartment properties in the past and was interested in acquiring this one if possible.

Ron Cole, Youngstown State University spokesman, said the university did not have anyone at the sheriff’s sale and said the university is “not interested in purchasing” the complex at this time.

Flats at Wick LLC — which owed $6.32 million with interest and other fees — agreed in a Feb. 22 settlement to turn over the property to the bank unless it paid the money owed in three days. That didn’t happen, so it went up for auction.

Marchionda pleaded guilty Aug. 7, 2020, to four felony counts of tampering with records, all occurring on Oct. 6, 2011, when he admitted he used false invoices to get money from Youngstown for his Erie Terminal Place downtown-housing project to pay bills he owed for Flats at Wick.

He received five years of probation and 1,250 hours of community service.

Also, David Bozanich, a former city finance director, pleaded guilty Aug. 7, 2020, to two felonies and two misdemeanors and spent nearly a year in a state prison.

A felony tampering with records conviction was for giving $1.2 million from the city’s water fund to Marchionda if the developer gave $1 million back to the city’s general fund in December 2009 to buy the former Madison Avenue fire station property as part of the Flats at Wick deal. That illegal transaction allowed Bozanich to balance the city’s general fund that year.

The Flats at Wick was the first major development project Marchionda did in Youngstown and at one time was one of the largest downtown property owners in the city before a 101-count indictment was unsealed Aug. 30, 2018, against him, several of his companies, as well as Bozanich and former Youngstown Mayor Charles Sammarone.

Sammarone took a plea March 17, 2020, to two felony counts of tampering with records not related to Marchionda. He was placed on probation for five years and given 30 days of community service.

The state auditor announced Nov. 4, 2021, that it was seeking nearly $7.87 million in findings for recovery against Marchionda, several of his companies, his wife, a business partner and Bozanich.

The largest finding of $6.58 million was for an unpaid 2013 state energy loan for Wick Towers, a downtown apartment complex co-owned by Marchionda.

A smaller finding of $294,077 was leveled against the Marchiondas for an unpaid state loan on Flats at Wick.

The findings are still unpaid.