Criminal Justice
Judge rejects home confinement for ‘slots whisperer’ lawyer who spent nearly $9M in investor money
California lawyer Sara Jacqueline King, who was accused of spending nearly $9 million in investor money, will be serving prison time after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. (Photo from Shutterstock)
A California lawyer accused of spending nearly $9 million in investor money will be serving prison time after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter of the Central District of California sentenced Sara Jacqueline King of Newport Beach, California, to 21 months in prison Monday, report Law360, the Orange County Register, the Daily Mail and Casino.org. She is also required to pay $8.7 million in restitution.
King admitted that she spent the money on Las Vegas gambling and a lavish lifestyle. A previous civil lawsuit filed against King by a lending company cited its belief that King “moved into the Wynn Las Vegas resort and hotel, lived there for six months, and gambled 24/7.”
King called herself the “slots whisperer” and claimed that she had an unbeatable strategy for high-stakes slots, according to Casino.org. In reality, the only strategy in slots “is remembering to press a button,” the article says.
On a podcast, the Daily Mail reported, King asserted that she could “sell anything—even fire to the devil.”
“I was looking for a way out of law,” she reportedly said on the podcast. “Law was so miserable. I hate being a lawyer, it makes no money whatsoever.”
King had told investors that their money would be used to make loans to wealthy people secured by assets, such as luxury cars, yachts and major league sports contracts. In reality, she did not make loans with the money, her plea agreement said.
King’s attorney, public defender Samuel Cross, had sought a sentence of home confinement. He said her behavior was fueled by anxiety, ambition and drug addiction, according to Law360.
“She has to rebuild from nothing at the age of 41, and to do that is going to be incredibly difficult for her,” Cross said.
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