Former Attorney Gets Probation for Crypto Fraud

David Kagel, an 86-year-old former attorney from California, has been sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $14 million in restitution for his role in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The scheme, which operated from December 2017 to June 2022, falsely promised investors high returns through a purported crypto trading bot program. Kagel used his legal credentials to lend credibility to the scam by drafting letters on his law firm's letterhead. Prosecutors say the scheme defrauded victims of approximately $15 million. Kagel, currently in hospice care due to declining health, will serve his probation at a senior facility in Las Vegas, with a monitoring device required if he leaves. His law license was revoked by the California Supreme Court in 2023 for failing to respond to unrelated disciplinary charges.