A Centralia woman faces seven felonies for allegedly defrauding a 96-year-old woman out of over $21,000 in cash while making numerous unlawful purchases as her caretaker.
Such purchases included airline travel, rodeo tickets and car insurance, according to police.
Kristine L. Hughey, 58, is charged with five counts of second-degree identity theft, one count of forgery and one count of first-degree theft from a vulnerable adult.
The theft charge includes an aggravating circumstance alleging that Hughey either knew or should have known that the victim was “particularly vulnerable or incapable of resistance,” and that this vulnerability “was a substantial factor in the commission of the offense.”
Hughey made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court Wednesday, April 15, following her arrest Tuesday.
During the hearing, Judge J. Andrew Toynbee set Hughey’s bail at $100,000 cash or bond, in agreement with the prosecution’s request, saying the allegations, if true, “would constitute a pretty major economic offense.”
Toynbee cited additional concern with the defendant’s criminal history as indicated by Senior Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Hughey has been involved in a number of similar crimes across multiple states. These include convictions for forgery in California in 1996 and attempted aggravated theft in Oregon in 2017.
Hughey was also convicted in Colorado of check fraud in 2011, as well as second-degree theft and forgery in 2012, according to the affidavit.
The Centralia Police Department in a Wednesday news release noted additional criminal history involving multiple aliases in Maryland, Michigan and Nevada.
Though the police department said in its release that Hughey was originally from California, Rachael Tiller, Hughey’s attorney for the day, said Wednesday that Hughey grew up in the Centralia area and had lived there for the past five years.
Tiller said Hughey intended to retain private defense counsel.
Centralia police said they first became aware of the potential fraud earlier this month through concerned neighbors and Adult Protective Services (APS) referrals.
According to police, the victim has dementia and is considered a vulnerable adult under state law. The probable cause affidavit notes the victim had been staying at Three Rivers Care, a nursing facility in Centralia, for the last three months.
Investigators learned that Hughey had been granted power of attorney over the victim in September 2025, just months after she reportedly assumed the role of caretaker.
“Shortly thereafter, Hughey transferred the deed to the victim’s Centralia home into her own name via a quitclaim deed, claiming it as a “gift,’” the police department said.
After gaining control of the victim’s bank accounts, police said, Hughey allegedly withdrew over $21,000 in cash, and spent “tens of thousands of dollars” on various horse-related items, dining, travel and entertainment. She also allegedly transferred money to people out of state.
Investigators concluded these charges were inconsistent with a 96-year-old woman living in a nursing home, especially one who did not own a vehicle or livestock.
According to police, the roughly $78,000 either withdrawn or spent between September 2025 and March 2026 far surpassed the victim’s income from her Social Security and pension.
“During this time, Hughey had no-contact orders issued against (the victim’s) relatives to prevent them from seeing her at the facility,” the affidavit alleges.
According to the affidavit, Hughey told investigators she only obtained the no-contact orders because the victim’s family “kept coming around” asking the victim for money.
Investigators learned that Hughey had been homeless in June 2025 and was residing at a shelter until she became employed by the victim.
The victim reported that she “only meant for Hughey to acquire the property after she passed away, not for it to be transferred to her now,” according to the affidavit.
The victim added that she relied on Hughey to “keep track” of her bank account.
Hughey allegedly said she only used the victim’s account for authorized transactions like paying household bills and making purchases for the victim, before adding that she had closed the account and transferred the money to a new account to prevent access by prior caregivers.
According to the affidavit, the defendant said her account was linked to the victim’s account, but that the nursing home “took most of the money” from the victim’s funds.
Police reports indicated that Hughey admitted to making purchases for “horse stuff,” but said the victim had given her permission.
While reviewing financial records, investigators reportedly found 19 withdrawals, each for about $400, and six for over $1,000, along with transactions for trips to Vegas and Leavenworth.
The victim reportedly told police she did not authorize “Hughey to spend money at restaurants,” and said “Hughey would go on trips and likely made such purchases while on these trips without her permission,” according to the affidavit.
“The victim has since expressed her desire to revoke the power of attorney,” the Centralia Police Department said in its release.
During the preliminary hearing, the judge authorized a no-contact order on behalf of the victim and an order for Hughey to surrender any weapons within her possession.
Hughey was scheduled for an arraignment on Thursday, April 16.
