In September 2025, King County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Parisien ordered John B. Elliott, Shanelle Sunde, and their three companies to pay more than $7 million in penalties and restitution to homeowners who lost their inherited homes to fraud.
Northwest Justice Project’s Foreclosure Prevention Unit uncovered the scheme while helping clients, including Sheridan Skelly, protect their property. After discovering an initial case of fraud involving Elliott, NJP attorney Rob Miller began monitoring new probate cases as Elliott filed them. The research led NJP to present the case to Washington State’s Attorney General’s office, which filed a lawsuit.
It turned out that Elliott and Sunde had exploited legal loopholes to control approximately 200 estates of deceased strangers, selling at least 90 homes collectively valued at more than $28 million. They pocketed excessive fees while denying legitimate heirs their property.
In Skelly’s case, NJP saved his home before it could be sold. And, as Skelly tells it, NJP also saved his life.
A Family’s Heritage at Stake
The double wide trailer sits on one-third of an acre outside of Everett. “Grandpa bought it around 1964, when I was still a child. My brother, father and I came over to clear the land,” Skelly recalls.
Decades later, he moved into the home to care for his ailing grandparents, and then his mother. He stayed for 30 years. “My grandparents are embedded in everything about this place,” he says. “It became more than property—it became heritage.”
But when Skelly fell seriously ill and couldn’t work, he fell behind on property taxes. While facing foreclosure on property assessed at $350,000, he suddenly also received legal papers notifying him that Elliott—a stranger—was now in charge of the entire property. “I had no idea who he was,” Skelly recalled. “I felt helpless.”
Elliott had told the court that Skelly’s grandfather died without leaving a will – and positioned himself to take control.
Legal help – and more
Skelly feared he would soon be on the street with his walker and whatever he could carry. He didn’t know where to turn.
Then, out of the blue, an anonymous person mailed him a photocopy of an NJP brochure. “Whoever that was gave me the ability to reach out and solve this tangled mess that was going to cost me my home,” Skelly says.
He contacted NJP and was connected to attorneys Rob Miller and Aric Wong, who began to investigate all aspects of the case, talking to Skelly almost daily. But Skelly was getting sicker, and he was out of money.
“When Rob heard how difficult it was for me to breathe, he became very concerned. He suggested very strongly that I contact the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). That wasn’t about a lawyer dealing with legalities. It was about a human being having compassion.”
With NJP’s encouragement, Skelly secured Medicaid and food assistance. Later, NJP helped Skelly secure a Homeowner Assistance Fund grant to pay off his property taxes.
Meanwhile, NJP also fought Elliott in court. When Skelly couldn’t travel to sign documents, his attorney Aric Wong came to his house. “What lawyer does that?” he asks. “Doctors don’t even make house calls anymore.”
Piecing the past together, NJP discovered that Skelly’s grandfather had willed the property to his wife, making Elliott’s claim fraudulent. Wong got Elliott removed from control of the estate, then handled the legal paperwork to make Skelly the rightful owner. NJP also helped him apply for disability property tax exemptions.
“My NJP attorneys not only saved my home, they saved my life,” Skelly says. “If I was on the street I would not have lasted very long.”
Now, with his name on the deed, his property taxes paid, and Social Security income, Skelly says he is “free and clear.”
“For a while, I experienced the worst nature of humanity,” he reflects. “And then, suddenly, I find these people at NJP with incredible compassion, going out of their way for someone they don’t even know. They gave me back my perspective on humanity.”