Former Southlake real estate agent accused by feds in $2.55M investment scam in Seattle

A North Texas man and his ex-wife have been indicted in Seattle on federal charges accusing them of collecting $2.25 million for a real estate investment fund and pocketing much of the money for themselves.

Paul Waln, 58, a former real estate agent in Southlake, and Tamara King, 54, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington State on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

They’re scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday.

Waln solicited money from 22 victims from 2009 to 2013 for a fund called Halcyon. Investors were told their money would pool for the purchase and renovation of an apartment building in West Seattle, and then be used for other real estate projects. Investors couldn’t touch their money for 10 years, but Waln estimated they would earn an amount equal to an annual return of 20% while he kept a 1% management fee.

Waln married King, also a real estate agent, in 2013. Prosecutors allege they began jointly managing the investment fund. Between 2014 and 2018, the couple moved the money from the fund to their personal accounts, transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time. In some instances, the couple wrote secret memos to characterize the transfers as “loans,” but none of the loans were repaid and investors were not made aware of them.

Waln and King were required to distribute the funds to investors in 2019. But by the end of 2018, all the money had been misappropriated, authorities allege. Waln lied to investors, claiming the fund’s general contractor had been diagnosed with cancer, which would result in a two- to three-year delay.

In October 2019, King told the investors the money was gone because the investment had failed.

In all, Waln and King are charged with conspiracy, eight counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. Conspiracy carries up to five years in prison; wire fraud and money laundering are punishable by up to 20 years.

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