Banker sentenced for embezzling
Posted by rob on June 25, 2005 under Uncategorized | 
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Banker sentenced for embezzling
Faces nearly 2 years in prison; $400,000 taken from Wamu
Saturday, June 25, 2005
By TRACY JOHNSON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
A Seattle bank vice president first started embezzling money to pay for a pricey alternative treatment for his leukemia, finding himself desperate to stay on the only drug that showed much promise.
But yesterday, a federal judge in Seattle said ordinary greed helped drive Ken Dawson’s decision to keep stealing money from Washington Mutual, taking nearly $400,000 — an amount that soared far above his medical costs — by the time he was caught.
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik sentenced Dawson to nearly two years in prison, saying the man’s self-esteem issues — and desire to drive a fancy BMW, live in a nice Bainbridge Island house and take trips to New York City and Las Vegas — “helped accelerate him down that slippery slope.”
The judge turned down Dawson’s request for home detention, finding the crime serious enough to deserve prison time, though he agreed that the 33-year-old has mental-health problems and doled out about six months less than prosecutors sought.
Dawson was diagnosed in 1996 with acute myeloid leukemia and, after trying more traditional treatments, was accepted into a Duke University program that used an experimental drug called Gleevec.
His attorney, Kenneth Kagan, said it turned out to be a life-saving drug, but it cost roughly $10,000. A grant that paid for it ended suddenly in March 2003, devastating Dawson. That June, he started creating phony invoices and having Washington Mutual pay them.
Kagan said Dawson’s mental problems helped drive him to steal far more money than he needed for treatment. Dawson’s bipolar disorder was misdiagnosed as depression, resulting in Dawson taking the wrong medications — and ridiculously high doses of them — for several years, the attorney said.
“He got started to pay for his (leukemia) medication, and yeah, it got out of control,” he said. “He lost his moral compass, I suppose.”
Dawson, whose leukemia has been in remission for a year, told the judge yesterday that he was ailing physically and emotionally when he began taking money.
“At this time, my decision-making was at its worst,” said Dawson, who now lives with his parents in Virginia. “I ask for forgiveness and a second chance.”
But U.S. Attorney Bruce Miyake disputed the sympathetic picture of a sick, desperate man, noting that Dawson spent only a small fraction of the stolen money on treatment.
He said Dawson gave thousands of dollars to two different strippers, paying for one’s breast-augmentation surgery, and went on shopping sprees at Bloomingdale’s and Tiffany’s, took trips and paid for new landscaping at his house.
“This was a man who stole money to establish an extremely lavish lifestyle,” Miyake said. “He saw how easy it was, and he went full-bore.”
Several of Dawson’s former colleagues told the judge how disappointed, angry and embarrassed they were. They, too, said Dawson took the money simply because he liked to live extravagantly. “I feel as though he’s left a slimy spot on my soul,” said Debora Reinert. “He thought it through, he did it over a long period of time, and he got caught.”
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P-I reporter Tracy Johnson can be reached at 206-448-8169 or tracyjohnson@seattlepi.com
