Seattle cop sacked over real estate 'Ponzi scheme'

Officer Olivier Rigon stayed on duty for three years while an internal investigation for fraud dragged on.

Seattle Police Officer Olivier Rigon was finally terminated after a three-year internal investigation into his defunct real estate venture found that he lied and broke federal bankruptcy laws. Though King County prosecutors stopped short of filing criminal charges, the Office of Police Accountability found more than enough evidence from Rigon’s bankruptcy court hearings to end his employment.

Before Rigon joined the department, he and his wife, Christine Kwon, had a house-flipping business under the name Rock LLC. The venture hit a rough patch in 2019, so Rigon joined SPD, and Kwon returned to her job as a data engineer.

Meanwhile, they continued to invest in new projects and take out personal loans, including $30,000 from KIRO radio host Ron Upshaw. Based on information he learned in a civil suit against Rigon for non-payment, Upshaw filed an OPA complaint, and SPD opened a criminal investigation.

According to court filings, the couple had taken out multiple loans for the same properties that exceeded project budgets, and funds weren’t used to improve properties. Some of the money went into the couple’s bank account as “rental income.” Other loans were used to pay back earlier creditors, which Upshaw described as a “Ponzi scheme.”

The King County prosecutor’s office declined to file charges in December 2023, arguing that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Rigon and Kwon with theft by deception or mortgage and securities fraud. The assistant prosecuting attorney argued that at least some of the funds were spent to improve the properties. The attorney also found that personal loans did not qualify as mortgages, and real property was not a security under the legal definition.

The couple filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2021, and a federal bankruptcy court repeatedly denied their petition, finding that they engaged in misconduct by “wrongfully transferring assets, concealing assets, maintaining inadequate records, knowingly and fraudulently making false oaths, and failing to explain the loss of assets.”

Rigon signed a fraudulent and inaccurate disclosure under oath that omitted transfers from property sales. He told the courts and OPA investigators that his wife handled the finances, and he merely signed the form without thoroughly reviewing it.

According to the disciplinary report, the OPA does not typically sustain allegations for non-criminal violations of the law, but the agency found it was warranted in this case. The OPA pointed out that the penalty the bankruptcy court imposed — denial of discharge— is considered the “death penalty of bankruptcy” and is only applied in less than 1 percent of cases.

Despite being given the opportunity, Rigon did not amend his filing, nor did he pay his taxes for several years. The OPA scolded Rigon: “If he treated his own personal bankruptcy proceedings, testimony, and filings with such a reckless indifference to accuracy and completeness, how could he be trusted to scrutinize and ensure the accuracy and completeness of testimony and paperwork in his police work?”

The OPA also found substantial evidence to sustain dishonesty allegations. Court testimony contradicted Rigon’s claim that he was completely ignorant of the company’s financial situation. Kwon testified that she and Rigon had multiple discussions about what to do with the proceeds of the properties that they sold, which were used to rent housing after they sold their home.

All of this information would’ve been available to the OPA back in 2023. However, the case, initiated in 2022, was paused with the consent of the police guild until an appeals court issued its final ruling in April 2025. During that time, Rigon was continuously on duty in the Southwest Precinct.

Rigon is named as a witness in 17 active cases in Seattle Municipal Court and an unknown number in King County Superior Court.