Former attorney sentenced to two years in prison for stealing from estate he was to probate

The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its press release (quotation, not an independent finding): “Seattle – A 54-year-old former attorney was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years in prison for wire fraud for his theft of more than $1.5 million from an estate he was hired to probate, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Duncan Connelly voluntarily surrendered his law license as part of his plea agreement on March 5, 2026. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead said, “We talk about these financial crimes as if they’re just money,.. but as one of the victim’s wrote, ‘this was the money of someone I loved’… (The victims) had trust in you…. What we’re really talking about is theft. And then you covered it up.” “Mr. Connelly not only stole from his victims, he lied to them about his embezzlement for nearly two years,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “His crime was predatory, prolonged, and planned. The victims will likely not be made whole and will have to live the final years of their lives without the financial security that was rightfully theirs.” According to records filed in the case, in July 2020 Connelly was hired by the executor of the estate of a Port Townsend, Washington, woman who left some $3.7 million to six nieces and nephews, with nine specific gifts to various entities. The executor was one of the relatives - all of whom lived overseas - and all were unfamiliar with all of the legal steps necessary to distribute the funds and close the estate. The executor hired Connelly, who then worked at a large prestigious law firm, because of rankings on the firm’s website. Initially, Connelly han”