A once-prominent California attorney will spend less than two years behind bars after admitting to draining millions in client funds to bankroll an extravagant Las Vegas lifestyle that included high-stakes gambling, a luxury car, and months living in a casino resort.
Sara Jacqueline King, 41, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison Monday for orchestrating a brazen fraud scheme that siphoned $8.7 million from investors under the guise of high-interest business loans, The Orange County Register reported. Instead of funding legitimate deals, King used the cash to feed a relentless gambling addiction.
California lawyer Sara King sentenced to 21 months in prison for blowing $9M of clients’ money in Vegas, using funds to fuel lavish lifestyle https://t.co/7cb2dQuQxv pic.twitter.com/Ae7QZGcqet
— New York Post (@nypost) May 10, 2025
Federal prosecutors said King ran her fraudulent operation through King Family Lending LLC, pitching herself as a lender to celebrities, athletes, and wealthy individuals. The victims were told their money was secured by high-end assets, but authorities say the whole operation was a lie from the start. (RELATED: Colorado Funeral Home Owners Face Charges For Allegedly Defrauding Funeral Home Clients)
“During this time period, King never initiated or funded any loan,” said the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a statement. “Instead, she used victims’ funds to gamble at Las Vegas casinos and support her lavish lifestyle.”
King’s fraudulent activities peaked between January 2022 and January 2023, when she lost millions at the Wynn Las Vegas resort, which she reportedly called home for six months. Prosecutors say she burned through roughly $6 to $7 million in casino losses alone. Among her other splurges: a Porsche Taycan purchased with more than $130,000 in stolen investor funds.
Judge David Carter rejected a request from King’s defense team for a six-month sentence, instead handing down nearly two years of prison time. “This is a lot of money,” Carter said, describing the scheme as a “tremendous betrayal” of trust, The Orange County Register reported.
King’s defense painted her as a woman brought low by addiction and personal struggles. Her attorney cited a destructive combination of prescription drugs and excessive alcohol as factors in her isolation and descent into compulsive gambling. King herself alleged that her ex-husband pressured her into using investor money at the tables to try to recoup debts, according to the outlet.
At the height of her deception, King was sued by a British Virgin Islands investment firm, LDR International Limited, which alleged it gave her more than $10 million across 97 fake loans, the outlet reported. She even went so far as to use a photo of herself with NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, and Josh Allen — taken during a celebrity golf event — to boost her image as a power player connected to elite athletes.
Despite facing up to 20 years behind bars, King will serve less than two, and must repay over $8.7 million in restitution, the outlet reported. Whether those funds will ever be recovered remains unknown.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer L. Waier dubbed King “Lady Mafia,” a nickname that now seems far less glamorous than the Vegas façade she once projected.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
