Judge Finds Pair Guilty in $2 Mil Scheme

TACOMA, WA-Two local residents falsely led people living on Ketron Island to believe they were building an upscale residential community and a destination hotel there. But in reality, a judge has decided, the pair bilked the unsuspecting property owners out of roughly $2 million.

U.S. District Court Judge Jack E. Tanner has ruled that Charles Fain Jr., 54, and Catherine Cooley, 57, were guilty of a scheme on Ketron Island that involved 20 people. Ketron Island sits between Steilacoom and Anderson Island in Pierce County.

Fain and Cooley promoted a real estate investment and development project on the island, which they intended to develop into an upscale residential community with a golf course, destination hotel, marina and improved ferry service, according to court records.

Prosecutors say they fraudulently acquired the title of 13 properties, then sold the properties or used them for collateral for other transactions.

Fain and Cooley are scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 12. The maximum sentence for each of the five conspiracy and mail fraud counts is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The six counts of bank fraud each carry up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.