TACOMA, Wash. — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
A former Tacoma attorney has pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a vulnerable client, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Over a 10-year period, Colby Parks, 65, transferred more than $880,000 from the victim’s accounts to ones he controlled and paid himself at least $530,000 more than he was entitled to, prosecutors said.
The client had received more than $1.6 million after suffering permanent injuries in a motorcycle crash, but by the end of 2019, she had just $15 left in her account and was forced to sell her home, officials said.
After the sale, Parks diverted proceeds and claimed the victim owed him money he had advanced to her, authorities said.
Trust account nearly drained in 7 years
“According to records filed in the case, in 2010 Parks became the trustee for a living trust designed to pay the victim’s expenses after she was severely injured as a passenger on a motorcycle,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release Tuesday. “Initially, the victim’s trust account contained approximately $1.66 million. However, over the first seven years that Parks was the trustee, he siphoned the funds for his own personal use in such large amounts that only $20,000 was left. In 2018, Parks had the victim take out a reverse mortgage on her home and used the proceeds to fund the trust account.”
The Washington State Bar also investigated the matter, and Parks resigned his law license instead of facing discipline, which could have resulted in disbarment.
Parks is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 29.
Prosecutors have said they will recommend a sentence of no more than 33 months in prison.
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