A former Tacoma lawyer, Colby Parks, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a U.S. District Court in Seattle. Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller announced the plea, revealing that Parks embezzled over $530,000 from a disabled client’s trust account. The client had received approximately $1.66 million due to severe injuries sustained as a passenger in a motorcycle accident. Prosecutors plan to recommend a prison sentence of no more than 33 months when Parks is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones on August 29, 2025.
Court records show that Parks became the trustee for the victim’s living trust in 2010, intended to cover her expenses following her injury. Initially containing about $1.66 million, the trust account was depleted to just $20,000 over seven years due to Parks’ personal use of the funds. In 2018, he advised the victim to take out a reverse mortgage on her home and used those proceeds to replenish the trust account while continuing his transfers for personal gain.
Records indicate that Parks made more than 600 transfers from the victim’s accounts into his own over ten years, amounting to over $880,000 moved into accounts he controlled. He paid himself at least $530,000 beyond his entitled fees for trustee services.
By late 2019, only $15 remained in the victim’s accounts, forcing her to sell her home. Parks further diverted proceeds from this sale by falsely claiming she owed him money he had advanced.
Parks misled the victim by suggesting she was overspending when her cash disbursements were minimal compared to what he took for himself.
Washington State’s Adult Protective Services investigated Parks’ conduct after which he initially claimed an annual flat rate payment of $24,000 but later revised it to an average exceeding $54,000 per year upon request for documentation. However, evidence showed he collected well over $80,000 annually from the victim.
The Washington State Bar also conducted an investigation leading to Parks’ resignation from practicing law instead of facing potential disbarment.
The FBI investigated this case with assistance from both the Washington State Bar and Adult Protective Services. Assistant United States Attorney Cindy Chang is prosecuting the case.
