A Centralia man accused of stealing over $6,000 from his elderly mother in the summer of 2024 after he became her caregiver is now facing felony charges in Lewis County Superior Court.
The Centralia Police Department reportedly began an investigation into Craig Douglas Ballard, 38, after other relatives and friends of the victim reported the theft on July 26, 2024.
The group told police that Ballard was the caregiver for his mother, who was in the beginning stages of dementia, and reported “the theft of several thousand dollars by Craig while he had control of (the victim’s) finances,” according to charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court on March 3.
Records from the victim’s bank account reportedly indicated “several hundred transactions” on the livestream shopping app Whatnot between June 15, 2024, and July 11, 2024, totaling over $6,000 in purchases.
Bank records also reportedly showed several suspicious ATM withdrawals, several “big ticket item purchases” and Zelle payments to a recipient named “Craig Ballard,” according to court documents.
When interviewed by an officer, the victim “said she never gave Craig permission to make large purchases with her cards” and said “Craig would normally purchase food for her and make other small purchases, but not what was being reported,” according to court documents.
She confirmed that she never authorized purchases on Whatnot and reportedly showed the officer a fridge Ballard had recently purchased with her money without her permission.
When questioned by an officer over the phone on Aug. 6, Ballard allegedly “said he had not taken any money from (the victim) without her permission” and said he was aware of all of the purchases made through the victim’s bank accounts.
He allegedly told police that he had text messages from the victim authorizing all of the purchases and had receipts for all of the items, and said he would drop them off at the police station the next day.
“Craig did not drop off the documents as he stated he would,” according to court documents.
Meanwhile, the victim’s other family members removed Ballard as the victim’s caregiver and began the process of obtaining a civil restraining order between Ballard and the victim.
At a hearing for that civil case on Sept. 12, Ballard allegedly “indicated that he cannot even take care of his own finances, so he did not understand why he was put in charge of (the victim’s),” according to court documents.
He allegedly “admitted the Whatnot purchases got out of hand” and claimed he didn’t know he was using the victim’s card for his Whatnot purchases, but deleted all of her card information from his phone and attempted to get the money returned once he did. He also reportedly indicated “he was working out a payment plan with (the victim) to pay her back,” according to court documents.
During that hearing, Ballard also allegedly provided the court with written letters “he said showed (the victim) gave him permission” for the purchases he made with her bank information, but the victim’s other family members have since indicated “it is not (the victim’s) handwriting on the letter,” according to court documents.
Ballard was charged March 3 in Lewis County Superior Court with one count each of first-degree theft and second-degree identity theft.
He was issued a summons notice for a March 18 preliminary hearing, which he was present for.
All parties agreed Tuesday to allow Ballard to remain out of custody on $10,000 unsecured bail.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, March 27.
Ballard’s criminal history includes a 2016 first-degree criminal impersonation conviction, felony theft, burglary and trafficking stolen property convictions from 2011 and 2012, and multiple misdemeanor theft convictions.
