85 Year Old Former Attorney On Hospice Care Pleads Guilty To $9.5 Million Crypto Fraud
David Kagel, a now disbarred 85-year-old Beverly Hills attorney on hospice care, pleaded guilty to an elaborate, years-long crypto ponzi scheme on Wednesday.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Kagel and two co-conspirators promoted non-existent crypto investment programs and promised high-yield results to investors thanks to the use of AI trading bots.
A promoter for the massive crypto ponzi scheme alleged that Kagel held over $11 million in escrow that would guarantee victims’ investments “against loss for any reason,” with the now disgraced former attorney going so far as to craft professional documents to verify the promoter’s claims fraudulently.
David Kagel, an 85-year-old, recently-disbarred attorney who practiced law in Beverly Hills, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit commodity fraud for his role in a $9.5 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme https://t.co/DwGccJIwL9 pic.twitter.com/K62DArh4v4
— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) May 30, 2024
“Kagel preyed on trusting individuals through a complex scheme to separate people from their hard-earned money,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)’s Los Angeles Field Office.
In total, Kagel and his co-conspirators defrauded investors of an estimated $9.5 million in order to ultimately use it “ for their own personal benefit.”
“David Kagel abused his position as an attorney to earn the trust of investors and to endorse false statements about a purported cryptocurrency investment that was, in fact, a scam,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Kagel and his co-conspirators defrauded their victims out
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