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…