‘A thief and a crook’ — disgraced ex-lawyer cheated friend, hospital, and taxpayers
Ever wonder what kind of person would rob a children’s hospital, rob a friend to cover up the hospital theft, and lie to the federal government to obtain a pandemic loan while concealing beachfront property in Mexico?
The answer is Darlene Baker, aka Darlene Piper, 58, a disbarred attorney from Port Orchard who did all that and more between 2011 and 2021, according to federal prosecutors.
“A thief and a crook,” U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Bryan called Baker at her sentencing in Tacoma last year. She was ordered to serve 18 months in prison. She was placed on supervised release in March of this year.
Baker’s attorney said his client struggled for years with undiagnosed bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and PTSD, according to The Kitsap Sun.
“I have to say it is completely crazy,” Baker said at her sentencing as she offered an apology to the court.
Since then, federal investigators have found evidence of new crimes tied to Baker’s work for a Gig Harbor investment firm, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She was charged Tuesday, Aug. 22, with wire fraud and making false statements to obtain federal pandemic relief money.
Baker, who has legally changed her name from Piper, ran a law practice in Port Orchard, handling wills and trusts. Her first fraud conviction stemmed from a will she handled for a client who left his entire estate to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Seattle.
After the client died in 2014, Baker took $500,000 from the estate and invested it in Paraguay, prosecutors said.
The hospital asked where the money went. Baker stole from a close friend to repay the hospital, prosecutors said. The friend, deprived of her planned retirement savings, sued Baker and won, but Baker never paid her back. Before her sentencing, prosecutors discovered Baker was hiding assets, including a home in Cabo San Lucas and beachfront property in Mexico.
Baker gave up her law license and Washington State Bar Association membership as the case went on. She had been facing potential sanctions from WSBA for allegedly stealing $42,000 from two other clients, federal prosecutors said.
Publicity surrounding Baker’s conviction unearthed new information: Between March 2020 and August 2021, Baker applied for pandemic relief loans and obtained $80,000 from the federal government. She claimed she lost all income due to the pandemic and would use the money to meet her payroll expenses.
It turned out she had no employees to pay, prosecutors said. She was also making money: Her work for the Gig Harbor business netted $145,000.
“The False Statement charge alleges that Baker lied on financial disclosure statements required by the court in her earlier criminal case,” a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “In those statements, Baker claimed to be out of work, when in fact she had substantial income working for the investment firm. Despite that income, Baker failed to repay the victim in the wire fraud case and claimed to have virtually no resources to pay restitution.”
The new charges against Baker carry new potential consequences: a sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
This story was originally published August 22, 2023 at 12:19 PM.
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