TechFlow news, on October 9, according to Decrypt, U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro in Las Vegas sentenced 86-year-old former California attorney David Kagel. Kagel was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $14 million in restitution after admitting his involvement in a multimillion-dollar Bitcoin Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors alleged that from approximately December 2017 to June 2022, Kagel and two co-conspirators defrauded victims by promoting a fictitious cryptocurrency bot trading program, promising high returns with zero risk.
The scam fraudulently obtained at least approximately $15 million from investors. Kagel used letterhead from his law firm to draft correspondence sent to victims in an effort to build trust. The scheme claimed to use trading bots to invest in the cryptocurrency market, "guaranteeing" repayment of principal and promising profits ranging from 20% to 100% within 30 days. Kagel falsely claimed to hold 1,000 bitcoins worth $11 million as investment collateral and lied about having extensive cryptocurrency investment experience.
In 2023, the Supreme Court of California revoked Kagel's law license, following previous suspensions in 1997 and 2012.
