California lawyer Sara King sentenced to 21 months in prison for blowing $9M of clients money in Vegas, using funds to fuel lavish lifestyle
The California lawyer who swindled nearly $9 million from clients to fuel her gambling addiction in Las Vegas and support her lavish lifestyle will spend less than two years behind bars.Sara Jacqueline King was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison on Monday after she pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges in 2023.King was also ordered to pay $8,785,045 in restitution.She had faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.King’s defense argued for a six-month sentence but was denied by US District Court Judge David Carter.“This is a lot of money,” Carter said.
“There has always been a tremendous sense of betrayal,” Carter said during the May 5 hearing, according to the Orange County Register.King, 41, used her self-named lending business to give short-term, high-interest loans to professional athletes, celebrities and other high-net-worth individuals.She claimed to secure the loans using her clients’ high-end assets, including designer handbags, watches, luxury automobiles, yachts and earnings from guaranteed sports contracts.Under the name King Family Lending LLC, the Newport Beach lawyer recruited investors to fund business loans, using the investments as collateral for the same loans between January 2022 and January 2023.She admitted her scheme to the investors, promising to retain the collateral if a borrower defaulted and sell the collateral to repay the investor in full.“In reality, during this time period, King never initiated or funded any loan.Instead, she used victims’ funds to gamble at Las Vegas casinos and support her lavish lifestyle,” the US Attorney’s Office in Central California said after filing charges in 2023.King was dubbed “Lady Mafia” by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L.
Waier.During her scheme, King lost $8.7 million from five investors when she gambled in Las Vegas and blew the rest of the money on her “lavish lifestyle.”King lost between $6 million and $7 million at the Wynn L...