A former real estate professional who drained a retirement investment fund to finance a luxury lifestyle — including a custom pink Tesla and an 8.5-carat diamond ring — was sentenced to 55 months in federal prison on 14 felony counts, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Tamara King, 56, also known as Tamara Waln, of Toledo, Ohio, was convicted in December 2025 following an eight-day jury trial on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering, and three counts of filing a false tax return. U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez imposed the sentence, saying King “testified falsely” and “deliberately lied on the witness stand,” and describing greed as the primary motivation behind the fraud.
The scheme dates back to 2009, when King’s now ex-husband, Paul Waln, began soliciting investments in a real estate fund called Halcyon. Twenty-two investors — mostly Seattle-area residents — contributed a combined $2.25 million, with the understanding that the funds would be pooled to purchase and renovate a West Seattle apartment building and support other real estate projects. Investors were told they would receive their principal and projected earnings after a 10-year lock-up period, with Waln estimating returns could reach 20 percent annually.
After King and Waln married in 2013, the two jointly managed the fund and conspired to misappropriate investor money. Between February 2014 and December 2018, prosecutors said the pair secretly transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time from the investment fund through a management company and into King’s personal accounts. King financed an early-edition Tesla Model X with customized pink trim for $121,950, purchased a $49,300 diamond ring, and used $189,775 to pay a personal tax debt. She also employed a personal assistant from 2016 to 2019.
In October 2019, when investors were supposed to receive their funds, King informed them that all the money was gone and the investment had failed. Remaining investors lost their entire investments.
King also failed to report more than $1.6 million in income over three tax years, resulting in a tax loss to the federal government of $551,758, according to IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle field office.
Victim impact statements described delayed retirements, financial stress related to caring for disabled spouses, and embarrassment over being deceived. One victim wrote that King “stole that money and lived in a home twice as large as we’ve ever been able to afford.”
Waln, 60, now of Dallas, Texas, pleaded guilty to the wire fraud conspiracy in June 2025 and was sentenced to 33 months in prison on Oct. 31, 2025. Judge Martinez scheduled a restitution and asset forfeiture hearing for July 24, 2026. King will also serve three years of supervised release following her prison term.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
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