Former Clackamas County Commissioner Melissa Fireside defrauded her mother’s 83-year-old boyfriend last fall of $30,000, according to a search warrant and affidavit unsealed Tuesday.
The records allege that Fireside accessed Arthur Petrone’s accounts after she took her mother to visit the assisted living facility in Lake Oswego, where Petrone lived. Petrone, who is retired from his job at Safeway and lives on about $3,500 per month, gave his daughter power of attorney after “Petrone’s mental capacity started to diminish.”
Fireside, a political newcomer, was elected to the county’s governing body in November, ousting controversial County Commissioner Mark Shull. Fireside resigned earlier this month after the Oregon Department of Justice charged her with eight felonies including aggravated theft in the first degree, identity theft and forgery in the first degree.
Fireside, 43, pleaded not guilty. Reached by phone Tuesday, she declined to comment to OPB.
The newly unsealed records suggest that Patrone’s money was used to pay back a $29,000 loan to Rep. April Dobson, a Democrat who represents parts of Clackamas County. Dobson did not return OPB’s request for comment Tuesday, but previously said in a statement that she gave Fireside a loan “as a friend looking for temporary relief for her personal business.” Dobson said she agreed to “support a single mother of a young child during a tough time.”
“I drew up a contract which explicitly stated she would repay the loan within one month, and she did so,” Dobson said. The latest records show Dobson wrote Fireside a check on Aug. 24, 2024.
Melissa Fireside, pictured during her run for Clackamas County's board of commissioners. She has been charged with eight felony counts.
Courtesy of the Fireside Campaign
In a series of calls on Sept. 19, 2024, the affidavit states calls from Fireside’s phone placed to Rivermark Community Credit Union, a female voice Petrone identified as Fireside is heard “coaching and encouraging Petrone to answer security questions in an effort to reset Petrone’s online’s banking information.”
The calls were recorded by the credit union and provided to Lake Oswego Police, who investigated the case.
“With Fireside’s assistance Petrone was able to provide sufficient information so that [the credit union] provided his login name and a temporary password,” police wrote in the affidavit.
Days later, on Sept. 23, 2024, Petrone had three unusual transactions from his Rivermark account, according to the affidavit. Two withdrawals, totaling $1,000, went directly to Fireside. The third withdrawal of $29,000 went to Dobson.
A loan application
In late September, Petrone’s daughter, Lynn Roberts, reported her father was the victim of fraud. She contacted Rivermark, and learned that Petrone had taken out a $21,000 loan on Sept. 18, 2024.
Petrone said he did not take out the loan, the affidavit says, but believed he’d co-signed for a loan and “was not to pay ‘one cent out of pocket.’” He was confused and did not seem to know what he and Fireside were doing when they were on the phone with his bank.
Shortly after speaking with him, Roberts got a text from Fireside’s number, saying that Petrone had “agreed to sign for a loan” for her to help until an investment property was sold.
“That loan was funded through the credit union, NOT with use of his personal funds,” the text allegedly read. “I suggest you talk to [Petrone] and get the facts.”
According to the documents, Fireside’s mother, Gertrude, was in a relationship with Petrone. They’d been dating for five years.
“I also learned from Petrone and Roberts that the relationship between Fireside and Petrone was not a friendship, rather an acquaintance as Fireside drove her mother Gertrude Fireside to visit Petrone,” the affidavit states. Petrone told Lake Oswego police he saw Fireside repeatedly in the days preceding the money transfers, which he described as unusual.
“Prior to that time, Petrone did not recall any time he would have spent with Fireside other than waving at her when she dropped off her mother to visit,” police wrote in their affidavit.
Fireside also allegedly crafted a fake email address for Petrone, connected to her business, Resolute Consulting, LLC. According to court records, he had no knowledge of this email address and had never used it before. That email address along with Fireside’s phone number, were found on a loan application submitted to the bank.
“Petrone never worked for or had any connection to Resolute Consulting, LLC,” the affidavit said. “I believe this email address was a fraudulent email address created by Fireside for the purpose of assuming the identity of Petrone to obtain a loan in his name.”
Fireside’s next court appearance is scheduled for the end of April.
