Former inmate charged with trying to steal $182K from King County

SEATTLE — KIRO 7 has learned a former King County jail inmate has been charged with trying to steal $182,845.31 from the King County Treasury.

Darius Marques Woods' alleged plan was discovered by investigators, and the Auburn man has since been charged with Attempted Theft and Identity Theft.  

Woods is currently out of custody after posting a $100,000 bond.

Even though no money was lost in the alleged scheme, a source inside King County government told KIRO 7 the case “has brought to light system vulnerabilities.”

The source asked not to be named because of the person’s position within King County and the nature of what the King County Sheriff’s Office calls an “on-going investigation.”

Documents filed in King County Superior Court detail how Woods allegedly attempted to defraud the King County Treasury.  According to the documents, whenever there are surplus funds after a foreclosed property is sold at auction, that surplus money is owed to the former property owner.  The unclaimed surplus amounts are listed on King County's website by parcel number.

Property owners can then be easily identified through an online search.

King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Nami Kim alleges in court documents that Woods – a convicted felon – tried to get his hands on a $182,845.31 surplus by posing as the man who was owed the money. The documents reveal Woods created a fake Washington State Driver’s License using the dead man’s name, but Woods’ address. The role of Woods’ alleged accomplices are also described in court documents.

However, at least two things prevented the alleged scheme from being successful: at the time, Woods was behind bars on an unrelated case, and the $182,845.31 surplus had already been paid.

Sgt. Ryan Abbott of the King County Sheriff’s Office told KIRO 7 that Woods was unsuccessful “because of the simple fact that it had already been claimed by the rightful owner a year or so prior.”

The fact the money had already been paid is what alerted a King County Treasury Real Property Manager to the fraud attempt.  Detectives with the King County Sheriff’s Office were notified and “listened to jail phone calls made by Darius Woods” during which a male caller “wanted to know where the ID was at.  Woods responded quickly he did not know what he was talking about.”

The caller then responded “the excess funds.”

Detectives also recovered emails they claim link Woods to the fraud attempt.

In an emailed statement Wednesday, King County Finance Director Key Guy wrote “We have never had a successful fraud attempt involving tax foreclosure sales, and it was not successful this time.”

When asked why a claimed surplus was still posted on King County’s website a year after being paid, Guy responded “Normally after a sale occurs, we try to update our web site within a month.

Unfortunately, it did not happen in this case.  But we do think it is wise to provide more frequent updates given this type of fraud attempt.  We intend to begin updating the web site weekly.”

However, the government source who spoke with KIRO 7 does not believe updating the web site will prohibit fraud attempts.  The source believes King County was simply lucky Woods’ allegedly tried to claim a surplus that had already been paid.  The source also said it has been suggested King County not post surplus amounts online because “they are enticing to scammers.”

See 2016 info here. See 2017 info here.

KIRO 7 asked Guy whether the County would consider not posting surplus amounts.

"The brief answer to your question is yes, we plan to continue posting the surplus fund amounts on our website, along with the parcel number and date of the sale," Guy said. .

"Years ago we did not post this information on the website and after tax sales were completed, we often received phone calls and formal public disclosure requests for the information. We decided to post this information on the website to reduce the number of requests and increase public transparency of the sales results. We will continue with our rigorous application process and strengthen it further by taking the actions I mentioned in my earlier email."

This is Guy's email sent earlier Wednesday is below.

We have never had a successful fraud attempt involving our tax foreclosure sales and it was not successful this time.  We actually worked with our law enforcement officials to set up a sting operation that resulted in the arrest of Mr. Darius Marques Woods.

The fraud attempt began in October 2018.  It was our Treasury staff who alerted the Prosecuting Attorney and the Sheriff's Office about the situation.  We knew this was a fraud attempt from the start because we had already issued a check to the correct person months earlier.

When there is a tax foreclosure sale, the results of the sale are posted on the County's web site.  The results only include the date of the sale, the amount received and the parcel number.  There is no other identification with names or addresses.  For someone to try and obtain the funds, they must go through a rigorous application process.  The process helps us validate an applicant's personal identification.  Depending on the situation, we ask for a copy of the driver license, the last four digits of their SSN, birth certificates, death certificates, probate records and wills.  We also ask for a Notary Public to validate the application signature, as well as check signatures on property deeds and compare them to signatures on the driver's license and the application form.

Normally after a sale occurs, we try to update our web site information within a month.  Unfortunately, it did not happen in this case. But we do think it is wise to provide more frequent updates given this type of fraud attempt. We intend to begin updating the web site weekly.  Going forward, we will also be working with the Washington State Department of Licensing to run validation checks when we receive copies of driver's licenses.

Darius Woods contacted KIRO 7 on Thursday to say he is innocent of all charges.

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