by April Scheinoha
Editor
A Brooks woman has been charged in Marshall County District Court after she allegedly stole a total of more than $292,000 from a an elderly man for whom she had been serving as power of attorney. The 997 unauthorized transactions dated back to August 2021.
Hollie Louise Baker-Walseth, 78, has been charged with felony theft, according to online court records. The complaint was filed Friday, March 7 in Marshall County District Court. A mug shot wasn’t available of Baker-Walseth.
The charge stemmed from a report to the sheriff’s office on Wednesday, Jan. 8, according to the complaint. The man’s brother and a family friend reported that they believed Baker-Walseth and her son had allegedly stolen money from the man over the past couple of years. They estimated the amount to be around $500,000.
The man and Baker-Walseth had been involved in a relationship, and her son had lived with them for some time as well. The son hasn’t been charged in connection with this case.
The reporting parties said the alleged victim suffers from alcoholism. They said the man signed his power of attorney to her around the time of his dementia diagnosis a few years earlier.
Baker-Walseth then began withdrawing money out of the man’s account, including multiple withdrawals for two casinos. She had also allegedly provided her son with a debit card associated with the account.
A family friend, who was among the people who reported the incident, allegedly said Baker-Walseth asked him about purchasing some of the man’s land. The family friend agreed to the $200,000 purchase since he had wanted to purchase the property for some time and believed the money would also help with his friend’s medical bills.
About a year later, Baker-Walseth sought more money from the friend even though he had already paid for the land. When asked where the money had gone, Baker-Walseth allegedly said it had been spent on food.
Baker-Walseth had also recently entered his Thief River Falls business, demanding an immediate payment of $10,000.
The men reported that the alleged victim opened one of his bank statements and became irate, accusing Baker-Walseth of stealing all of his money. She allegedly said she has a problem and needs help.
The man’s brother said he recently found a notebook in which Baker-Walseth had allegedly written short stories, claiming he and the family friend had threatened her. Both men said they had never threatened her and were afraid she would try to use the notebook as a way to obtain money from them and remove them from the man’s life. The brother provided photos of the notebook and the entries to the deputy.
Baker-Walseth allegedly declined to speak with the sheriff’s deputy. The deputy also attempted to contact Baker-Walseth’s son, but the deputy was unable to get in contact with him.
The deputy interviewed the alleged victim while he was hospitalized Jan. 28. He said Baker-Walseth was his power of attorney. When asked about his reaction regarding the amount of money expended out of the account, the man said they got into a heated argument and he asked her why she had stolen all of his money.
The man went through bank statements with the deputy and later with his current power of attorney, documenting unauthorized transactions. The 997 transactions occurred from August 2021 through June 2024. They totalled $292,293.41.
In a press release detailing the case, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office encouraged the public to notify law enforcement if they know of elderly individuals who are being preyed upon.
The sheriff’s office indicated it has worked on many fraud cases similar to what is alleged here and has recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars for people who have been preyed upon or who have been victims of fraud.