Seattle – A former Tacoma attorney, Colby Parks, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller announced that Parks embezzled over $530,000 from a trust account belonging to a disabled client. The client had received approximately $1.66 million following severe injuries sustained as a motorcycle passenger. Prosecutors are recommending a prison sentence of no more than 33 months for Parks, with sentencing set by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones on August 29, 2025.
Court records indicate that Parks became the trustee of the victim's living trust in 2010, intended to cover her expenses after her injury. Initially containing about $1.66 million, the trust was depleted over seven years due to Parks' personal use of the funds, leaving only $20,000 by 2017. In an effort to replenish the account, Parks had the victim take out a reverse mortgage on her home but continued to misuse the funds for personal gain.
Records show that Parks made over 600 transfers from the victim's accounts into his own between October 2017 and late 2019, totaling more than $880,000 transferred over ten years. By late 2019, only $15 remained in the victim’s accounts, forcing her to sell her home; proceeds from this sale were also diverted by Parks under false pretenses.
Despite telling his client she was overspending, Parks secretly used significant amounts for himself while providing minimal cash disbursements to her.
When investigated by Washington State’s Adult Protective Services (APS), Parks initially claimed he earned a flat rate of $24,000 annually but later revised this figure under scrutiny to an average exceeding $54,000 per year—still significantly less than what he actually collected: over $80,000 annually.
The Washington State Bar Association also conducted an investigation during which Parks resigned his law license rather than face potential disbarment.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led the investigation with assistance from APS and the Washington State Bar Association. Assistant United States Attorney Cindy Chang is prosecuting the case.
