South Sound ranches targeted with fraudulent purchases of hay, losing thousands of dollars

South Sound ranches are losing thousands of dollars to a unique crime: thieves ordering up hundreds of bales of hay, only for the charges to be reported as fraud.

It started like any other at Kimball’s Ranch in Yelm. A new client began ordering truckloads of hay on a credit card.

“We delivered about 460 bales,” Stephanie Kimball said.

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The ranch has been in her family for generations. It’s a labor of love.

Crews with the ranch made about four deliveries before getting an unusual call: the charges had been labeled as fraud.

Between product, delivery, and labor, the ranch was out around $10,000.

“A small farming business, it’s a large impact for us,” she said.

Kimball’s Ranch wasn’t the only one targeted.

“Everything was checking out really nice,” Jacob Moody with EPH Hay & Cattle said. “It looked like we were going to get a new customer.”

In total, EPH Hay & Cattle lost about $24,000 in a similar scam.

Both Moody and Kimball were alerted to photos on Facebook that matched photos their own employees had taken. In one shot, you could see a Kimball’s Ranch truck (covered by a drawing of a horse). They believe the thieves took the product and attempted to sell it online.

“You see that he’s selling it for $10 a bail,” Moody said.

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Thurston County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to KIRO 7 it was investigating the case.

“Everyone that is affected by this is a family-run business, and there’s already enough like pressure on family-run businesses,” Moody said. “You do this and like that directly affects, you know, our kids. Like that takes food out of their mouths.”

“Our best thing we can do is try and get the word out to everybody else,” Kimball said. “And hope that someone brings these people down because it’s stealing. It’s not right.”