A McCracken County personal injury attorney faces a series of charges for allegedly taking at least $550,000 that should have gone to clients.
James Grant King, 43, of Paducah, is charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky. Charging documents filed on Monday say he acted as a plaintiff’s attorney for numerous clients who sought his services to recover monetary damages in civil actions.
After learning about his clients’ cases, King would seek to settle their cases with insurance companies. However, after reaching a settlement with the insurance companies, which ranged from $8,000 to $270,000, and unbeknownst to his clients, King would then keep most or all the settlement amounts for himself, telling his clients they either didn’t have a case, or were worth much less than originally thought.
The U.S. Attorney said this took place over a 10-year period, between March 2007 and May 2017.
King is also charged with obtaining a $97,500 personal loan from a McCracken County individual. As collateral, King transferred the title of a Phoenix Model 920 Pro XP bass boat. A few months later, he applied for a duplicate title to the boat and then, unbeknownst to the individual who loaned him the money, King sold the boat, without repaying the loan.
If convicted at trial, King could face a sentence of up to 42 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and pay a fine of $750,000.
The Paducah Sun reported in April that King was charged with two counts of failure to make required disposition of property charges by the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department and has previously pleaded guilty to several DUIs.
The case is being investigated by the U. S. Attorney’s office, the FBI and the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department.
