BUSINESS

Washington Federal Way Lawyer Shawn Harju Accused of $20M Fraud Scheme

Published on July 24, 2024

According to Law360, a Washington attorney by the name of Shawn Harju has been sued for allegedly running a forged invoice scheme that led to $20 million dollars financing. Law360 provides a copy of the lawsuit and a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors in California.
The lawsuit was filed in King County Superior Court in Seattle, Washington, where Shawn Harju used to work as a construction defects lawyer in her previous firm. Equinox law firm and Shawn Harju were escrow agents for the financing transactions, according to the complaint and the Law360 article. The case is Highmore Financing Co. I LLC v. Equinox Business Law Group PLLC et al., case number 24-2-14405-6, in King County Superior Court.

Equinox, Harju’s previous law firm and Shawn Harju allegedly accepted payments from a private equity fund and conspired with Harju’s clients to fraudulently disburse payments to several companies owned by or associated them instead of paying a computer equipment supplier, Law360 and the complaint alleges.
During the due diligence period, the alleged fraudsters submitted false financial information, fabricated bank statements and fabricated corporate documents, according to the complaint. After Shawn Harju and her cohorts/clients got a hold of the money, they altered invoices for the computer servers and ancillary equipment, including falsely inflating the billed amounts by millions of dollars, the complaint states.

Shawn Harju’s clients/associates, “Greig and Sparrow” were indicted in 2022 on wire fraud and money laundering charges in federal court in California, according to open-source information. Shawn Harju has not been criminally charged.

The lawsuit in Washington state court alleges Equinox and Shawn Harju knowingly processed the fake invoices and made fraudulent payments to affiliated companies and persons.

According to Law360 article and the complaint against Harju, Shawn Harju “helped Greig and the Greig companies get Highmore to increase the line of credit and offer more funds, even though Equinox and Harju knew the Greig companies could not afford to borrow more money”.

Shawn Harju, according to open source is a director and vice chair of the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce in Washington state. She is also purported owner of Chrysalis Solutions PLLC, her legal and consulting firm, and Three Trees Yoga, LLC and is affiliated with a Land Rover automotive restoration business called Defenders Northwest, LLC.

It is this affiliation that may signal a pattern of unethical behavior – and perhaps more. Hidden in a lowly strip mall in Gig Harbor, a town of about 10,000 people, Defenders Northwest is managed by Brian T. Hall and his spouse, Michele A. Hall. The Halls and their business is also being sued for fraud arising out of a giant car restoration scam, alleged in several lawsuits filed in California. The lawsuits claim that Shawn Harju acted as a partner and enabler, and participated in the filing of fake liens to conceal the alleged fraud.

In the $20 Million fraud case, plaintiffs sued Shawn Harju and others for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, negligent and/or intentional misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and civil conspiracy.