A Silver Creek man accused of issuing fraudulent checks and failing to pay back approximately $130,000 he borrowed from a Chehalis couple earlier this year has been charged with first-degree theft in Lewis County Superior Court.
The couple contacted the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office about the theft on July 18, stating they loaned the defendant, Robert E. Nelson Jr., 28, approximately $130,000 for “a business transaction” 10 weeks prior. Nelson reportedly agreed to “pay it back within a week, but failed to do so,” according to court documents.
The couple said they had received three checks from Nelson — one for $166,000 on May 27, one for $168,000 on June 6 and one for $190,000 on June 27 — but none of the checks cleared due to insufficient funds in Nelson’s bank account.
When contacted by law enforcement, Nelson “explained that the business deal went south (and) that he should have the money in his account soon and would pay (the couple) back,” according to court documents.
Law enforcement reportedly monitored the situation for “many more weeks,” but the couple was never repaid.
On Aug. 26, Nelson allegedly “confessed” that the purported business deal “was never a real thing” and said “he took the money because he had medical bills he needed to pay,” according to court documents.
He reportedly explained “the money was gone and he had no money coming back at the time.”
Nelson was arrested on Sept. 16 and has since been charged with one count of first-degree theft and three counts of unlawful issuance of checks or drafts.
Given that Nelson has no criminal history, a Lewis County Superior Court judge allowed Nelson to be released on $10,000 unsecured bail on Monday.
Nelson is allowed to remain out of custody for the duration of his case without paying bail so long as he shows up to his mandatory court hearings and follows his conditions of release.
His next scheduled court appearance is an arraignment hearing set for Thursday, Sept. 22.
