Ex-lawyer pleads guilty to embezzling $530K from disabled client
TACOMA, Wash. - A former Tacoma lawyer pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $530,000 from a disabled client over the course of a decade.
Colby Parks, 65, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the U.S. District Court in Seattle, all in connection with a years-long scheme where prosecutors say he embezzled money from a client's trust account after they were permanently injured in a motorcycle accident.
Former lawyer embezzles money from WA woman
Timeline:
According to court records, Parks became the trustee of the client's account in 2010, which was intended to help pay the victim's expenses after the accident.
At first, that trust account held around $1.66 million, but for the next seven years, Parks withdrew funds for personal use, court records say.
Eventually, only $20,000 was left in the account.
Court records say Parks had the victim take out a reverse mortgage on her home, and Parks used the money to fund the trust account — which he then continued to transfer to his own accounts.
Prosecutors say, over the course of 10 years, Parks transferred some $880,000 from the victim's trust accounts, at least $530,000 more than he was entitled to as his management fees. By 2019, the victim had only $15 left in her trust, forcing her to sell her home. Parks then siphoned some of the funds from the sale, as well, claiming it was money he had advanced her and was owed, court records say.
Dig deeper:
Washington's Adult Protective Services investigated Parks and the victim, and he told auditors he was only paid a flat rate of $24,000, court records say. Prosecutors allege he then changed that number to $54,000 per year when they asked for documentation, but they believe he was paying himself well over $80,000 per year from the victim's trust.
The Washington State Bar launched a separate investigation, at which point Parks resigned his law license rather than be disbarred.
Prosecutors have requested Parks be sentenced to no more than 33 months — or 2.75 years — in prison during his sentencing, scheduled for August 29.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the U.S. District Court in Seattle.
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