시애틀지역 한인 변호사가 고객 합의금을 180만 달러 이상 횡령한 혐의로 기소됐다. 킹 카운티 검찰은 벨뷰에서 활동해온 패트릭 김 전 변호사에 대해 12건 이상의 횡령 혐의 등으로 기소했다고 밝혔다.

워싱턴주 보험 당국은 지난 4년 전부터 김 변호사에 대한 보험 사기 등에 대한 조사를 벌여왔으며 그가 최소 15개 보험회사와 의뢰인간에 이뤄진 합의금에서 200만 달러 가까운 액수를 횡령했다고 설명했다.

마이크 크라이들러 워싱턴주 보험국장은 “김씨는 2017년 9월 형사법과 이민, 교통사건 등을 전문으로 하는 유나이티드 로펌 매니지먼트 파트너에서 사임을 했다”면서 “그가 워싱턴주에서 법률행위를 할 수 없게 되어 있었는데도 부인이 운영하던 SLK 로펌에 계속 고용돼 일을 했다”고 설명했다. 보험당국은 “김씨가 횡령한 합의금은 대부분 언어적으로 의사소통에 문제가 있었던 의뢰인들”이라고 밝혀 한인 피해자들인 것으로 파악되고 있다.

After failing to appear in the King County Superior Court for three felony charges of theft in the first degree and ten felony charges of theft in the second degree, Patrick Kim has been added to Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s insurance fraud most wanted list. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Kim following an investigation by CIU. Kim was working as an attorney and managing partner at United Law Firm in Bellevue. The majority of his clients were part of the Korean community, and English was not their primary language. According to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, Kim assisted his clients with negotiating personal injury settlements with insurance companies, and because the documents were in English, his clients trusted him to accurately explain the settlement documents. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner stated that Kim used his position of trust to divert $1,828,018.09 from the insurance settlements that should have been disbursed to his clients. Kim was disciplined by the Washington State Bar Association for violating the Rules of Public Conduct, according to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. As a result, Kim surrendered his license to practice law and resigned from the Washington State Bar Association, who referred the case to CIU. CIU investigates insurance frauds and works with the Washington State Patrol, as well as state and local prosecutors on criminal cases. According to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, insurance fraud costs the average family $400 to $700 per year in increased premiums.