Former California Lawyer Avoids Jail Sentences Despite Fraud Conviction Due To Deteriorating Health

An 86-year-old former California attorney has just been sentenced guilty to fraud. But he won't be sentenced to jail due to his old age and current health conditions. Rather, he has been sentenced to five years of probation and a 14 million fine after admitting to committing commodity fraud in May.

David Kagel will be serving his probation in the hospice care at a senior facility in Las Vegas where he is currently at due to his ailing health. Under the situation that he leaves the hospice care, he would be required to wear a monitoring device.

Ponzi scheme built on lies

According to government prosecutors, Kagel and his two accomplices lured victims into investing in a fraudulent crypto bot trading scheme with promises of high returns and no risks.

Over the 5 years of operation, Kagel and his accomplices promoted and solicited investments and obtained at least $15 million from victims under the guise of various cryptocurrency trading programs.

Kagel used the letterhead of his law firm to give the impression of legitimacy to the victims. Kagel promised his investors a 20-100% profit within the space of just 30 days. He also pretended that he had 1,000 bitcoin, worth $11 million to secure the investment.

Past criminal offences

In 2023, Kagel's law license was revoked by the California Supreme Court for failing to respond to disciplinary charges. At that time, he was suspected of misappropriating $25000 in client funds.

His law license has been previously suspended twice, once in 1997 and 2012.

Kagel's accomplices, David Saffron and Vincent Mazzotta, both denied any wrongdoing and are set for trial in April 2025.