On September 2, 2004, Frank Ballance and his son Judge Garey Ballance were indicted by a Federal Grand Jury. Frank Ballance was charged with diverting more than $100,000 in state funds meant for the John A. Hyman Memorial Foundation to his son, daughter, mother, church and law firm while he was a state senator. Judge Garey Balance was charged with willful failure to file a federal income tax return for 2000, a misdemeanor that has a maximum punishment of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.