Key Takeaways
- • Tamara King, a former Seattle-area real estate broker, was sentenced to 55 months in prison for orchestrating a decade-long fraud scheme that defrauded 22 investors of more than $2 million through a real estate fund called Halcyon between August 2009 and December 2013.
- • King was convicted in December 2025 on 14 federal felony counts including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and tax fraud; the sentencing judge noted her refusal to accept responsibility and characterized her as "the primary instigator of this fraud" motivated by "pure greed."
- • Investors believed they were securing retirement savings through a legitimate real estate fund, but King instead diverted capital to fund a lavish personal lifestyle, with co-conspirator and ex-husband Paul Waln soliciting the initial investments.
- • The case demonstrates enforcement priorities around investment fraud targeting retirement savings, with federal prosecutors emphasizing coordinated follow-up by the FBI and IRS to trace illicit fund flows and hold white-collar fraudsters accountable.
Summary
Tamara King, 56, a former real estate professional operating in the Seattle area who previously resided in Bellevue and Kirkland, Washington, received a 55-month federal prison sentence on May 15, 2026, for a systematic fraud scheme that extracted more than $2 million from 22 victims over a four-year solicitation period. According to the U.S. District Court in Seattle, King was convicted in December 2025 following an 8-day jury trial on 14 federal felony counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, multiple counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and tax fraud.
The fraud centered on a real estate investment fund called Halcyon, which King and her ex-husband Paul Waln, 60, promoted to investors between August 2009 and December 2013. Victims were led to believe they were prudently investing retirement savings into a legitimate real estate vehicle. Instead, King systematically diverted investor capital to finance personal luxury expenditures, a pattern that FBI Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington described as draining "the account to fund her lavish lifestyle" over nearly a decade of operation.
At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez delivered a sharp rebuke of King's credibility and culpability, noting that she had testified falsely during trial and "deliberately lied on the witness stand." The judge identified King as "the primary instigator of this fraud" and underscored that her motivation stemmed from "pure greed." Her refusal to accept responsibility for the scheme became a decisive factor in the sentencing calculus. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd stated that King "stole from those who invested not just their money, but their dreams of a secure retirement," while noting that she continued to blame others despite her 14 federal convictions.
The case reflects coordinated federal enforcement against investment fraud targeting retirement savings. The FBI Seattle field office and IRS Criminal Investigation division prioritized tracing illicit fund flows to document the full scope of misappropriation. Prosecutors emphasized that the substantial prison term—coupled with ongoing asset recovery efforts—signals deterrence against white-collar financial crime in the alternative investment space.
The fraud centered on a real estate investment fund called Halcyon, which King and her ex-husband Paul Waln, 60, promoted to investors between August 2009 and December 2013. Victims were led to believe they were prudently investing retirement savings into a legitimate real estate vehicle. Instead, King systematically diverted investor capital to finance personal luxury expenditures, a pattern that FBI Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington described as draining "the account to fund her lavish lifestyle" over nearly a decade of operation.
At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez delivered a sharp rebuke of King's credibility and culpability, noting that she had testified falsely during trial and "deliberately lied on the witness stand." The judge identified King as "the primary instigator of this fraud" and underscored that her motivation stemmed from "pure greed." Her refusal to accept responsibility for the scheme became a decisive factor in the sentencing calculus. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd stated that King "stole from those who invested not just their money, but their dreams of a secure retirement," while noting that she continued to blame others despite her 14 federal convictions.
The case reflects coordinated federal enforcement against investment fraud targeting retirement savings. The FBI Seattle field office and IRS Criminal Investigation division prioritized tracing illicit fund flows to document the full scope of misappropriation. Prosecutors emphasized that the substantial prison term—coupled with ongoing asset recovery efforts—signals deterrence against white-collar financial crime in the alternative investment space.
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