Newport Beach attorney admits blowing $8M from investors, pleads guilty to fraud and money laundering

A Newport Beach attorney admitted in court documents filed Monday that she lied about providing loans to professional athletes and celebrities in order to get investors to hand over millions of dollars and then used that money to fund a lavish lifestyle and gambling spree in Las Vegas.

Sara Jacqueline King agreed to plead guilty to felony counts of wire fraud and money laundering in a deal signed with federal prosecutors on June 12.

King told investors their money was secured by jewelry, antique coins, yachts and other items put up by famous people who were supposed to be borrowing money from her company, King Family Lending, according to a criminal complaint also signed Monday and a lawsuit filed by Virgin Islands based lender LDR International, one of her alleged victims.

But that collateral and the loans they were supposed to be attached to didn’t exist.

King admitted recruiting five investors in 2022 and convincing them to hand over about $8 million. LDR International claimed she presented photos of herself with NFL quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes as well as falsified loan documents to deceive them.

She used their money to buy a Porsche Taycan, moved into the Wynn Las Vegas resort and hotel and gambled nonstop, according to court documents.

King has agreed to pay at least $8,785,045 in restitution and is scheduled to make her first court appearance on June 20. The maximum penalty for the crimes she admitted to is 30 years behind bars.