Oxborrow accused of bank robbery

SEATTLE - A man involved in a 1980s pyramid scheme in Moses Lake was arrested for allegedly robbing a Shoreline bank.

The King County Sheriff's Office arrested Kenneth D. Oxborrow, 51, for robbery in the first degree earlier this month.

Oxborrow reportedly entered GBC International Bank on Aurora Avenue North in Shoreline and handed the teller a note, asking for the money. The teller allegedly handed the money to him, King County sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said.

Oxborrow reportedly did not have a gun during the robbery.

Officers reportedly found Oxborrow at a nearby Safeway coming out of a bathroom, and followed him to a Starbucks, where they questioned him, Urquhart said. The suspect had been wearing aviator sunglasses, and when an officer asked if Oxborrow had glasses, the man reportedly took out a pair of aviator sunglasses.

He reportedly had a large amount of money in his pocket when he was arrested, Urquhart said, adding the King County Sheriff's Office does not release the amount of money taken during a robbery.

Oxborrow is known in Moses Lake. He started the Wheatland Investment Company in 1979. He took more than $58 million from between 900 and 1,200 investors, running a pyramid scheme where he paid old investors with the money from new investors, according to court records.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order for Oxborrow to stop selling unregistered securities, according to the federal agency records. Oxborrow continued the scheme, collecting about $1 million more in violation of the order.

Oxborrow contacted the Grant County prosecuting attorney and arranged a plea agreement, pleading guilty to willful violation of a cease and desist order, two counts of theft in the first degree and fraud in connection with the scheme.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the financial crimes, according to court records.