Ex-Kent City Councilman Sharp sentenced to 43 months in prison on theft charges

Ex-Kent City Councilman Ken Sharp on Thursday morning received the maximum sentence of 43 months in prison for stealing more than $470,000 from his 93-year-old mother.

“I’m ashamed for what I’ve done,” Sharp said prior to his sentencing at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. “I apologized to my family for all the heartache and troubles that I’ve done and I accept responsibility for what I’ve done.

“While some of the things mentioned may not be completely accurate, the fact is I did it and I’m ashamed, embarrassed and accept responsibility for my actions.”

A King County corrections officer handcuffed Sharp and took him into custody after King County Superior Court Judge James Cayce sentenced the Kent businessman. Sharp had not yet served any jail time.

Sharp, 67, pleaded guilty in June to seven counts of first-degree theft and one count of mortgage fraud. In 38 separate transactions, a total of $479,417.58 had been transferred out of Helen Sharp’s account and into Ken Sharp’s account between 2008 and 2011. Detectives later discovered an additional transfer that boosted the total to $485,417.58, according to court documents.

Relatives of Sharp tipped off police about the thefts. His mother lived in Federal Way at the time of the thefts.

Federal Way Police arrested Sharp in June 2013 but he stayed in his first race for city council and voters elected him over Bailey Stober in a close November 2013 contest.

Sharp resigned in January 2014 after only two weeks in office because of what he said were “pending legal issues I fear will become too distracting for my fellow council members, for the mayor and for city staff.”

Helen Sharp, his mother, died in November. Despite her death, Sharp still must pay restitution to her estate, said Page Ulrey, King County senior deputy prosecuting attorney, who handled the case and specializes in elder abuse crimes.

The length of Sharp’s sentence was contingent on how much money he paid back to his mother. Sharp needed to pay at least $100,000 to have his sentenced reduced. In October, Cayce granted Sharp three extra months before sentencing to give him more time to come up with money but he paid back just $1,500, Ulrey said.

With no restitution paid, Ulrey recommended a high-end sentence.

“Miss Sharp was 93 years old when this occurred and had dementia,” Ulrey said. “She was completely vulnerable. She and the Sharp family entrusted the defendant with her life savings, her finances – literally everything. But rather than comply with his fiduciary duty as her power of attorney he squandered her assets, her life savings. He lived a lavish lifestyle and truly disregarded her concerns.”

Carol Grothe, a sister of Ken Sharp, asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence.

“We are pleading with you to take this case seriously enough to deter all of those contemplating stealing money from the elderly,” Grothe said. “Do not make it light, do not make it profitable. …Do not leave the elderly unprotected.”

The thefts started in 2008 after Sharp agreed to help take care of his mother and her financial affairs following her stroke.

“He started withdrawing money in November 2008 and continued almost every month for the next three months,” Grothe said. “When that money ran out, he took out a reverse mortgage on mom’s house and took that money.”

Grothe said Sharp used much of the money for trips.

“He continuously and blatantly with his wife posted pictures on Facebook of his many travels out of the country, parties, hotels and restaurants,” Grothe said. “He and his wife, we are told mostly his wife, bought a diamond ring, a wedding, a car and a house.”

Sharp told his two sisters he needed the money to payback his ex-wife but Grothe said that wasn’t true. He also told them he needed the money to help out his printing business, but she said he continued to take trips, even to other countries.

Sharp’s decision to run for the Kent City Council surprised his family.

“He ran for Kent City Council while under investigation,” Grothe said. “Knowing he was guilty, he decided he was qualified enough to run for office making a joke out of the whole city,” Grothe said. “This made this case very public and caused absolute humiliation for the whole family.”

Defense attorney Greg Girard asked Judge Cayce to consider the good work in the community Sharp had done. Sharp was a former Kent Chamber of Commerce president.

“I think it’s appropriate to consider the positive things he’s done in his life in assessing what the appropriate sentence is,” Girard said. “He’s been a positive man in the community for a long time, helping people along the way justifies a sentence below the standard range.”

Cayce declined to consider the good work.

“I’m hear to sentence you on eight separate crimes you committed over a period of a year,” Cayce said. “I appreciate the good work you’ve done, this wasn’t part of it.”

Cayce told Sharp the state Department of Corrections will determine where he serves his sentence.

“It’s up to DOC where you go,” Cayce said. “I know any amount of time is going to be very difficult for you. I suspect you will be in a halfway house well before you are released but this jurisdiction has nothing to do with that it’s totally up to DOC.”

Prior to jail officers taking Sharp away, his wife Sara Sharp hugged him goodbye. She also tried to block a television camera and newspaper photographer from taking pictures by opening wide her jacket. That action caused a jail officer to tell her to move away from Ken Sharp and exit the courtroom.

“They’re taking pictures that’s pretty crass don’t you think?” Sara Sharp said to the officer as she walked away.

The officer said he had no opinion and asked her to please leave the courtroom.

Editor’s Note: This story was corrected from an earlier version to accurately quote Page Ulrey, senior deputy prosecuting attorney.