BELLEVUE, Wash. – Federal court documents outline what U.S. attorneys describe as a multimillion-dollar real estate fraud scheme that drained tens of thousands of dollars from 22 Washington investors, many of them in the Seattle area.
Prosecutors say the scheme involved wire fraud, money laundering and tax fraud, and ultimately funded a lavish lifestyle far removed from the real estate investment returns investors were promised.
Prosecutors point to luxury spending, not investor returns
According to court filings, evidence gathered by the FBI and the IRS traces investor money to luxury purchases, including high-end jewelry, expensive cars and a five-bedroom home in downtown Bellevue.
U.S. attorneys identify Tamara King, previously known as Tamara Waln, in photos seated in a custom Tesla with pink rims and butterfly doors. The vehicle, prosecutors say, cost approximately $120,000.
King was previously married to Paul Waln, who prosecutors describe in defense trial briefs as “a con artist, a grifter, and a swindler,” and a man with a “grandiose and delusional lifestyle that he believes he deserves.”…