Cars, guns, $28M in houses. Tacoma man, others accused in ‘probates for profit’ scheme
A King County judge on March 6 ordered the bank accounts of a five companies frozen in response to a lawsuit brought by the state Attorney General’s Office that accuses seven people of manipulating the probate system to enrich themselves.
Seven defendants, three from Tacoma, have been sued for illegally gaining control over hundreds of estates belonging to deceased people. Those named include John B Elliot of Tacoma, Shanelle Sunde of Tacoma, Brady Howard of Florida, Grace Kinney of Bremerton and Julie Ellis of Tacoma.
Attorneys Robert Brouillard and Douglas Owens were also named, alleging they knowingly facilitated Elliot’s mishandling of estate funds, among other alleged misconduct, according to court documents.
Several companies connected to the defendants also have been named in the suit, with a number of them being listed in Pierce County. The companies listed were Probate & Administration Services LLC from Gig Harbor, Aurora Creek Ranch LLC from Tacoma, Sunde Consulting & Accounting LLC from Tacoma, Ellis Probate Services LLC from Tacoma and Foundation Escrow, Inc. from Tacoma.
The News Tribune reached out to the attorneys representing the defendants and companies for comment but did not hear back as of Friday afternoon.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the defendants walked away with millions of dollars that belonged to the heirs of those estates, with Elliot being the alleged “ring-leader.”
“Probate is a solemn legal process that ensures heirs receive their share of an estate after a loved one dies,” state Attorney General Nick Brown said in a news release. “These defendants exploited loopholes, and our consumer protection team will hold them accountable for the harms caused to multiple families.”
The suit says that in late 2018 Elliot developed a scheme to administer third-party probates for profits.
“He planned to identify distressed real properties where the homeowners died intestate and no one had initiated probate proceedings, initiate probate proceedings and petition to be appointed as administrator/personal representative (PR) of their estates, and then once appointed as PR, distribute estate assets in a manner profitable to himself and the other Defendants and their affiliated businesses,” according to court documents.
The defendants named allegedly provided substantial assistance to Elliot in the scheme. The lawsuit alleges each of them engaged in independent breaches of legal duties or participated in illegal acts.
Documents show the the deceased owners of the properties were strangers to Elliot. Elliot is accused of believing he could gain profit over the properties that the deceased owners left behind.
The lawsuit says the defendants filed more than 200 probate actions across Washington over the last five years. They sold about 90 homes worth more than $28 million total.
The defendants often did not notify “easily identifiable heirs” of the probate proceedings. Some of the defendants allegedly locked heirs out of the homes where they had lived. They then sold the homes, documents show.
“On other occasions, Elliott lived rent-free in the estate homes, drove estate cars as his own, and sold estate cars and firearms obtained from estate properties to his friends cheaply and privately,” the complaint says.
The Kitsap County Superior Court launched a Special Master inquiry in June 2024 due to concerns about Elliot’s “failures to fulfill his fiduciary duties [as PR] and appearance of self-dealing,” documents show. An inquiry is ongoing but has been “proven fruitless” in getting requested documents and information from Elliot.
The court ordered Elliot to serve 30 days in jail in January 2025, saying he is stonewalling the inquiry into his probate-administration practices. Documents says there is an outstanding bench warrant for his arrest.
Those accused have allegedly refused to say where large sums of missing money have gone, the release said.
The lawsuit seeks penalties for each violation of the Consumer Protection Act for the group’s deceptive and unfair acts, and full restitution for heirs affected by the “probates for profit” scheme. The lawsuit also asks the court to permanently stop the individuals and the companies from breaking the law in the future, the release said.
This story was originally published March 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
