An 86-year-old former attorney from California was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $14 million after being found guilty of organizing a multimillion-dollar Ponzi cryptocurrency scheme.
According to a ruling by the Federal Court in Las Vegas on October 8, David Cagle was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit commodity fraud. In May, Cagle pleaded guilty.
From 2017 to 2022, Cagle, along with two accomplices, attracted people to invest in a fraudulent scheme related to trading bots, promising high profits and no risk.
Over the years, the criminals managed to obtain about $15 million from investors in "various cryptocurrency trading programs." Cagle used his position as an attorney, sending letters on official law firm letterhead, which helped instill trust in the scheme.
Deceived individuals believed their money was being invested in cryptocurrency markets using trading bots, and Cagle assured them that he held 1,000 bitcoins in trust.
