86-year-old lawyer admits to running multi-million dollar crypto scheme
09.10.2024
According to the verdict of the Federal Court in Las Vegas, Cagle, along with two accomplices, organized a large-scale scheme, luring victims from December 2017 to June 2022. Offering "risk-free" investments with high returns, they collected at least $15 million.
For added effect, Cagle used his law firm as a trust tool. Victims were sent official letters on letterhead with the lawyer’s signature, which gave the deals additional legitimacy. Investors were confident they were working with a professional and reliable organization experienced in cryptocurrency investments. However, as the investigation revealed, it was just a front operation.
Prosecutors stated that the trio fraudulently raised at least $15 million in investments. Various programs were used for this purpose, promising investors returns from 20% to 100% in just 30 days. Cagle even claimed to have 1,000 bitcoins in escrow as a guarantee for the deals.
The Federal Court in Las Vegas sentenced Cagle to five years of probation, considering his age and poor health. He is currently in hospice care at a senior facility in Las Vegas. If his condition does not allow him to leave the hospice, he will serve his probation term there under supervision with a special monitoring device. His accomplices, David Safron and Vincent Mazzotta, are currently awaiting their cases to be heard in the Federal Court of Los Angeles next year.