The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington

A lawyer who once represented the city of Ridgefield is due in court today to face first-degree theft charges relating to allegations he stole between $587,000 and $840,000 from four different clients since 2003.

The alleged thefts were uncovered after one of the clients, an elderly Ridgefield married couple, filed a lawsuit earlier this year claiming that Michael J. Wynne, 63, embezzled $350,000 that was intended for investment in a real estate development project.

Late Thursday afternoon, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Denny Hunter filed four counts of first-degree theft.

Wynne, who was not taken into custody, is expected to plead guilty to the charges this afternoon before Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis.

Wynne, also a prominent Vancouver civil lawyer, is alleged to have committed the thefts while working in private practice. In the meantime, he represented and advised Ridgefield city officials in civil litigation between 2004 and 2006.

In a probable cause affidavit, Vancouver police Detective Jane Easter said Wynne showed a “common scheme or plan or a continuing course of conduct” of stealing between Nov. 21, 2003, and June 16.

Those charges include allegations Wynne stole from a local union of Vancouver city employees while assisting in purchasing a building in the downtown area this year.

Lawsuit triggers inquiry

Easter launched her investigation Aug. 23 after obtaining copies of the Ridgefield couple’s lawsuit filed in January in Clark County Superior Court. The suit claimed that in 2003, Wynne was given a cashier’s check for $350,000, which the couple wanted him to invest in a real estate development project.

Easter alleged in court papers that Wynne used the money to pay a personal debt in a civil suit to a lumber company.

In the ensuing years, the couple — George Temme, now 90, and his wife, Julia, now 91 — often asked Wynne about the investment. According to court papers, he would reassure them everything was fine and the investment was progressing.

Last year, however, the Temmes’ grown children began questioning the transaction and discovered there never was an investment, according to the civil lawsuit.

In September 2009, through a new attorney, the Temmes demanded a refund from Wynne, plus interest.

Wynne wrote a letter back and admitted he owed them money. “He stated that he was seeking to sell the interest in the development project to his other partners and that he believed the proceeds … would be sufficient to repay the debt,” the suit claims.

While continuing her investigation, Detective Easter discovered Wynne allegedly misappropriated funds in 2005 from another client’s probate estate. The client’s new attorney told the investigator that he believed Wynne took between $186,000 and $439,000 from the deceased Josephine Nees’ estate.

In a later interview, Wynne’s attorney, Bob Yoseph, reportedly admitted Wynne used the money to help pay his bills.

In yet another case, Easter found that the Office & Professional Employees International Union, Local 11, had retained Wynne in March to help them purchase a building on Columbia Street. The union, which includes 175 city employees, gave the attorney $100,000, and alleged that he kept about $37,000, according to the affidavit.

Wrapping up her investigation, the detective discovered a fourth client, David Reagan, had retained Wynne to purchase property from Reagan’s ex-wife. In June, Reagan gave Wynne $78,000 to execute the sale, and about $14,000 was allegedly siphoned to Wynne’s personal account to help him pay bills, according to the affidavit.

Attempts to reach Yoseph were unsuccessful Thursday.

In paperwork filed in July, Yoseph wrote that Wynne was currently staying in an inpatient facility for treatment of unspecified addiction and mental health problems.

Wynne was admitted to the state bar in 1976. A spokeswoman for the Washington State Bar Association said Thursday that Wynne’s license to practice law is still active and that there is no public investigation under way. She noted, however, that bar investigations become public only after a long probe.

Laura McVicker: 360-735-4516 or laura.mcvicker@columbian.com.

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