A lawyer spent more than 9 million dollars belonging to her clients on gambling and luxury goods (3 photos)
Sarah Jacqueline King of the United States duped investors by convincing them of fictitious loans, while in reality she spent millions on casinos and luxury living. 
Sarah Jacqueline King, 41, a lawyer from Newport Beach, California, was sentenced on May 5 to 21 months in federal prison for her role in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme. The woman pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering, spending about $8.7 million of investors' money on gambling, luxury shopping, and stays at elite Las Vegas hotels.
As the investigation found out, King founded the company King Family Lending LLC, through which she convinced investors that she was issuing short-term secured loans to professional athletes, stars and wealthy clients. In fact, according to the prosecutor's office, no loans were issued. The American used the trust of clients and forged documents to gain access to their funds.
One of the largest victims was the offshore investment fund LDR International Limited, based in the British Virgin Islands. From January to October 2022, King took out 97 loans from the fund for a total of more than $10 million. Most of this money was lost at the Wynn Las Vegas casino, where, as stated in the lawsuit, she lived for six months and literally did not leave the gaming halls. 
King is also known to have spent over $130,000 on a Porsche Taycan electric car, as well as designer items, jewelry, and luxury spa treatments.
In court documents, she claimed she was pressured by her ex-husband, Kamran Abbas-Wahid, to gamble to "pay off" debts. Her attorney, Sam Cross, said King suffered from Xanax, alcohol, and mental health issues before she took part in the scam. She later checked herself into rehab.
The court ordered King to pay the full amount of damages — $8,785,045 — and she will be on supervised release for three years after serving her sentence. She is scheduled to report to prison on July 14.
"She didn't just scam millionaires. She stole from people like me — regular people who trusted her. It's mean and evil and there's no forgiveness for that," said Yumiko Sturdivant, one of the clients who was scammed. 
