A Palmerton Borough official has been charged with a misdemeanor offense.

Criminal charges have been filed against borough Councilman Michael Ballard for a bad check.Ballard, 54, was just re-elected to a four-year term on council in last week's general election. Ballard was originally appointed to fill a vacant seat on council in May of 2012, after former Councilman Randolph Gursky resigned after he bought a business and moved to another state.Before his appointment to council, Ballard served seven years on the Palmerton Area School board of directors.According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by borough police Chief Randy Smith:On Oct. 1, at around 2:55 p.m., Timothy DeSousa stopped at the Palmerton Police Department and presented the attached copies of a check in the amount of $2,428, dated Sept. 10, 2013, from the account of Michael J. Ballard and Mary E Smida, drawn on National Penn Bank Account, according to the affidavit.The check was issued to DeSousa Oil & Service Corp for payment of a civil judgment, the affidavit says. The check was deposited into the DeSousa Oil Account and was returned to DeSousa Oil stamped "NSF".DeSousa advised that back in early-August of this year, he filed civil judgment against Ballard. On Sept. 2, a constable went to the Ballard residence to serve the execution sale on Ballard, and Ballard asked for an extension.The constable called DeSousa and spoke with him, and Ballard was given an extension until Sept. 10 to pay.Ballard advised the constable he could return on Sept. 10 and pick up the payment.The constable returned on Sept. 10 and picked up a check for the full amount of the civil judgment. DeSousa Oil sent a letter dated Sept. 20 to Ballard advising him that the check was returned to DeSousa Oil for insufficient funds, and that he had to come in to the office with cash or a money order to buy back the check, plus a $50 service charge, for a total of $2,478.On Sept. 20, DeSousa Oil called Ballard and spoke with him, and advised him that he had 10 days to make the check good, or it would be turned over to the police for prosecution.As of the filing of this complaint, DeSousa Oil has not heard from Ballard.Contacted this morning, Ballard told the TIMES NEWS the situation occurred because, "My bank accounts were hacked.""I lost my checking and savings (accounts), and I have been fighting desperately to get it back," Ballard said. "But, they keep pushing me back (and saying) that the investigation is ongoing with the FBI, and that I won't see my money."He added, "I wasn't the only one that got nailed that day, there were eight others.As a result, Ballard said his income consists of his monthly social security check, as well as that of his wife's."It forced me, even though I still have a lot of physical problems, I still had to go back to work through the Ticket to Work program just to help make ends meet," he said. "Because the money that was taken, that was my life savings."Ballard said he sent a letter to DeSousa, and, "He just didn't care what I wrote; it didn't matter.""First, he went to the district justice, and I was in the process of selling an annuity," he said. "They've (J.G. Wentworth) been bugging me for the longest time to sell the remainder, and they told me I could get like $61,000 out of this."Ballard added, "I gave the check to the constable, and told him to hold it until I knew that the money was in my account, and it wasn't. They exaggerated the value of the worth, and that amount of money wasn't there. It was far less, so then the deal didn't proceed. By the time I called the constable, he already sent it to DeSousa, and by the time he sent it to the bank, the money wasn't there."Ballard continued, "Chief Smith called me two weeks ago, and I was in the process of starting a new job, everything was all muddled and crazy, and he said if you can't make it, call me. Then, without nothing else from him, I get this registered package in the mail.""He's sticking it to me because I can stick it to him, because I'm his boss, I'm a borough councilman; basically, that's what it's coming down to. He never gave me a chance to say my peace, I never heard another word from him again, and he wouldn't speak with me on the phone; he would only do it in person, and I couldn't meet with him until this week."Ballard said, "What happened was it was an honest mistake. I was a customer with this guy (DeSousa) for 10 years, and then a problem occurs, and he doesn't give you a chance.""It was all a series of mistakes," he said. "I've never done anything like this in my life, never been arrested for anything."Ballard continued, "It's not a bad check. It wasn't a bad check; the money was supposed to be there.""There was no malice in this at all," he said.Reached this morning, Smith declined to comment.Ballard is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing before District Judge William Kissner of Palmerton at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4.