Former Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley has been found guilty on 9 of 14 counts Wednesday in his second trial on allegations he stole from clients while running a real-estate services business during the height of last decade's housing boom.
“Troy Kelley stole money from thousands of homeowners, then tried to hide it by passing it through a variety of accounts – ultimately he committed tax fraud to try to hide the theft and keep as much of the ill-gotten gain as he could,” said U.S. Annette L. Hayes in a statement.
A jury found Kelley guilty of one count of possession of stolen property, two counts of making false statements and six counts of tax fraud. He was found not guilty on five counts of money laundering.
Kelley operated a business between 2003 and 2009 that tracked real estate sales and refinancing documents. According to testimony, Kelley's company withheld $3 million that should have been returned to homeowners. When the fees were questioned in 2008, Kelley moved the stolen money through various bank accounts to hide it.
Kelley's federal fraud trial last year ended with an acquittal on one count and a deadlocked jury on more than a dozen others.
