A Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department check was reported missing before police traced the money.
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Pierce County prosecutors charged an Olympia couple with forgery and second-degree theft after a $10,000 Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department check was altered, deposited by mobile app and later moved through bank and Cash App accounts.
According to court documents, Meleane Balabagno and Gerryleo Balabagno were each charged on March 31 in connection with the check, which had originally been issued to a vendor in November 2023. Prosecutors say the crimes are alleged to have happened on or about Dec. 5, 2023.
According to Tacoma police, the health department wrote a check for $10,000 to the nonprofit Mi Chiantla for services and mailed it on Nov. 17 or 18, 2023, to an Olympia address the department had on file.
The issue surfaced weeks later after the business contacted the department and said the check had never arrived.
Police said the check had been washed and the payee name changed to “Gerry Balabagno,” while the address and the $10,000 amount remained the same.
Investigators said Navy Federal Credit Union confirmed the check was deposited by mobile deposit on Dec. 4, 2023.
Police later found the most recent bank statement for Gerryleo Balabagno listed the same Olympia address that had been on file for the vendor.
The report said the health department appeared to have mailed the check to an outdated address already in its system.
Investigators said money was then transferred into other accounts and sent out through Cash App and Zelle, along with cash withdrawals and purchases.
The report lists transfers to accounts including “mele Bala,” cash withdrawals at a Walmart in Lacey, ATM withdrawals in Olympia and a purchase at Michael Kors.
Investigators also wrote that ATM video from January showed a woman using a debit card tied to Gerryleo Balabagno’s account.
After comparing that video with a Department of Licensing photo, police said the woman was clearly Meleane Balabagno.
The report also says Meleane Balabagno appeared to handle the couple’s finances, even though she was not listed on the Navy Federal account used for the deposit.
According to police, Gerryleo Balabagno later told investigators he worked for the Washington State Department of Health, did not know anything about the $10,000 check and that he and his wife had started renting the Olympia home at the end of October.
Police said he also told them his wife handled the accounts and worked for Rehab Specialists.
The report says Meleane Balabagno initially told police she did not remember the check, then said she would meet with investigators.
Police wrote that neither she nor Gerryleo Balabagno showed up for that meeting.
Investigators later heard from an attorney, and the report says the couple chose to remain silent.
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