Woman allegedly bilked of $86,000

A La Crosse man initially hired by a Galesville woman as an investigator is accused of defrauding the woman of over $86,000 since 2017.

Agents with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigations, allege that Keith Scott Burch, 55, convinced the woman to give him money for an investment, for items such as a snowmobile and as donations for a dementia charity. 

Burch is charged with four felonies: Two counts of theft through false representation of between $10,000 and $100,000, theft through false representation of between $5,000 and $10,000 and theft through false representation with special facts.

Burch has been summoned to appear in Trempealeau County Circuit Court Sept. 12.

The woman said she met Burch through a Winona counselor during counseling prior to a divorce, according to court documents. The woman hired Burch to investigate her then-husband but told investigators she never received a report from him.

After receiving her post-divorce settlement, Burch allegedly told her he could invest the money for her. Burch also is alleged to have told her he was dying of Lewy body dementia and asked her to contribute to a charity investigating the disease, court records say. The investigators say they could find no evidence the money was actually donated. She also allegedly met Burch at various locations and gave him cash.

Investigators allege she gave Burch $86,604 since 2017.

According to the criminal complaint, Burch told investigators in 2022 that the woman was “obsessed” with him and that he offered her $50,000 to not file charges.