Judge freezes company bank accounts in lawsuit over “probates for profit” scheme at AG Brown’s request

Millions of dollars unaccounted for, ringleader currently at-large

SEATTLE — In a consumer protection lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court, the Attorney General’s office asserts that seven Washingtonians and their five companies manipulated the probate system to gain control over hundreds of deceased strangers’ estates. They walked away with millions of dollars that should have gone to heirs. The complaint asserts that the defendants violated Washington’s Consumer Protection Act as well as state probate, estate and escrow laws.

“Probate is a solemn legal process that ensures heirs receive their share of an estate after a loved one dies,” said Nick Brown, Washington State Attorney General. “These defendants exploited loopholes, and our consumer protection team will hold them accountable for the harms caused to multiple families.”

At the Attorney General’s request, a judge froze dozens of the defendant’s bank accounts to prevent additional losses.

The Attorney General’s investigation determined that the defendants filed more than 200 probates across the state over the last five years, selling at least 90 homes collectively worth more than $28 million. Large sums of money have gone missing, and the defendants have refused to say where the money is.

The lawsuit seeks penalties for each violation of the Consumer Protection Act for the group’s deceptive and unfair acts, and full restitution for heirs affected by the “probates for profit” scheme. The lawsuit also asks the court to permanently stop the individuals and the companies from breaking the law in the future.

The Consumer Protection Division is largely funded through money recovered from businesses who have violated Washington’s Consumer Protection Act and similar laws, not by taxpayers. Specifically, a portion of Consumer Protection recoveries go into the Attorney General's Civil Justice Operating Fund, which supports the Consumer Protection, Antitrust, Wing Luke Civil Rights, and Environmental Protection divisions. It also directly funds Medicaid Fraud Control and the Complex Litigation divisions.

Assistant Attorneys General Matt Geyman, Ben Carr and Lauren Holzer and Paralegals Miranda Marti and Christopher Kiefer are handling the case for the Attorney General’s Office.

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