The felony theft investigation into Melissa Fireside, the recently elected Clackamas County commissioner, will be reviewed, the Oregon Department of Justice stated Monday.
Citing a conflict of interest, Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth said he sent the inquiry to state attorneys on November 20. The district attorney’s office budget is approved by the county commission.
According to agency spokeswoman Roy Kaufmann, the Department of Justice will decide whether the Lake Oswego police investigation into Fireside yields enough evidence to submit the matter to a grand jury for potential charges.
According to Fireside’s attorney, Mark Cogan, police executed a search warrant on her Lake Oswego residence in late October, one week prior to the election, in relation to felony theft charges.
An ongoing investigation into aggravated identity theft and aggravated first-degree theft is cited in the search request, according to Cogan. A source claims that the accused victim is elderly.
Police Chief George Burke of Lake Oswego stated on Monday that patrol officers initially received a complaint about Fireside on September 30. Although he stated that detectives were involved earlier, the case was officially assigned to them on October 25.
He stated that the matter is proceeding according to the schedule that any investigation of that size would, but he declined to provide further details.
He asserted that nothing we have done or plan to do would cause it to move more slowly or more quickly. It is proceeding at the necessary rate to ensure that we are comprehensive, equitable, and impartial.
According to him, nothing on our end—at least not from an investigative procedure—changed in the slightest because of the parties involved.
The 43-year-old Democrat Fireside has not to comment on the probe thus far. Neither she nor her lawyer responded to a text message on Monday asking for comment. The Facebook page and website for her campaign were no longer available.
In earlier interviews, she stated that she is a construction management consultant and that she is the owner of Resolute Consulting PDX, a company that, according to its website, provides strategic management, startup development, and virtual business coaching.
According to Fireside, she graduated with a Ph.D. from the private, for-profit online school Capella University.
In 2019, court documents detailed her financial situation and detailed a long-term relationship with a man who is the father of her child. She stated that she was seeking to launch a consulting business, mentioned that she taught an online college course, and put her income as minimum wage.
Her ex-partner filed court documents stating that the couple obtained a home loan in his name because of unidentified issues with Fireside’s credit. According to the court documents, everybody had a Lexus that was funded according to his credit.
Two properties in Clackamas County are connected to Fireside.
According to county assessor records, she sold her Lake Oswego property on Ash Street to her mother Gertrude in 2020 for $600,000.
According to county records, in November 2023, Gertrude Fireside, who is in her late 70s, took out a second loan for approximately $119,852 on the house. Unlock Partnership Solutions, which provides agreements that enable homeowners to access their home equity for cash, handled the loan.
According to documents from the Oregon Secretary of State, Fireside is the member and registered agent of a limited liability corporation that owns a property in West Linn.
According to assessor records, Fireside purchased the 1800 Killarney Drive property in 2023 and gave it to her limited liability business a year later. Although a new home for $876,000. was added to the tax rolls this year, the assessor’s website does not provide a sale price for the land. According to the assessor, the property’s total market value is $1.16 million.
The asking price for the West Linn property is $1,295,000. According to a real estate website, it was first listed for $1,390,000 in August, but the price fell in September.
A minimum of $3,965 of the $11,896 in taxes owed on the West Linn property was due on November 15. The assessor’s office claims that no payment has been made as of yet.
With 52% of the vote, Fireside defeated incumbent Mark Shull, who received 48%. Each commissioner is paid $130,213 and is elected to four-year terms.
Ted Sickinger, a staff writer, helped write this report.
Criminal justice is the area of expertise for enterprise reporter Noelle Crombie. You can reach her at [email protected] or 503-276-7184.
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