Lawyer accused of blowing $10.2m in company funds in six-month Vegas junket

A Los Angeles lawyer is reportedly being sued after she allegedly spent over $10 million of company funds during a 6-month gambling and partying binge at a swanky Las Vegas hotel.

Sara Jacqueline King of Orange County is accused of falsifying millions of dollars worth of loans from LDR International Limited of the British Virgin Islands, according to a lawsuit filed on Feb. 11 in the Central District of California.

According to the lawsuit, the company made 97 different loans to King’s self-named lending service between January 2022 and October 2022 , Law and Crime reported. The money was supposed to go to third party borrowers, but in reality they didn’t exist, the suit reportedly claims.

The phony loans were presented with documentation that was supposed to be from the borrowers, showing they they had been secured with collateral.

“The purported loans from King Lending to the third-party borrowers were purportedly secured by various forms of collateral, including but not limited to luxury automobiles, boats, yachts, jewelry, watches, precious metal coins, and the earnings from guaranteed professional sports contracts,” the lawsuit states.

However no collateral was ever put up, the lawsuit alleges.

“King and King Lending provided Plaintiff, and its agent and representative, Laurent R., with false and fabricated loan documents between King Lending and the purported third-party borrowers, including ‘Secured Promissory Note,’ with name and other identifying information of the third-party borrower redacted,” the lawsuit alleges.

The filing additionally includes a number of photographs King sent the company in “an effort by King to increase Plaintiff’s trust and confidence in King in terms of her connections, lifestyle, and connections to high-profile athletes as part of her fraud and scheme.”

One photo shows King with four NFL quarterbacks — Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen — in a photo believed to have been taken during “The Match” golf tournament in Las Vegas, according to the suit.

“They show the lavish lifestyle she was living, jewelry, cars, and the image she was trying to portray, as well as being a successful California licensed attorney,” the filing said. 

LDR claims that King Lending lost its license to engage in such transactions for roughly six months — matching the timeline of King’s multi-million dollar gambling spree.

“King spent the majority of the funds loaned by Plaintiff to King Lending to gamble in Las Vegas, fund an extravagant lifestyle, and for other personal uses by King,” the filing alleges. “Plaintiff is informed and believes that King moved into the Wynn Las Vegas resort and hotel, lived there for six months, and gambled 24/7.”

Almost every penny of the $10.2 million King received from LDR is gone, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says that King’s ex-husband “has since fled to Morocco” and has backed the accusations that King “engaged in massive fraud,” Law and Crime reported.

King now says she is broke.

“King has recently provided evidence she only has $11.98 to her name,” according to the lawsuit. 

As recently as this month, however, King is still asking LDR for more money “to make back the money she has stolen.”

The lawsuit accuses King of breach of contract, fraud, civil theft and “account stated” — a cause of action in California that allows a creditor to sue for payment.