A Newport Beach attorney pleaded guilty Monday, July 24, to swindling investors out of more than $8 million to finance a lavish lifestyle of jewelry, cars, gambling, and a six-month stay at a luxurious Las Vegas resort.
Newport Beach-based King Family Lending provided short-term, high-interest loans to professional athletes, celebrities and other wealthy individuals, according to a plea agreement. The loans supposedly were secured by the borrowers, whose assets included designer handbags, watches, luxury automobiles, yachts and earnings from guaranteed sports contracts
King then would purportedly keep a percentage of the interest earned from the loans and pass along the remaining percentage of the interest to investors, along with their initial investment, the plea agreement states. One of the investors, LDR International Limited, based in the British Virgin Islands, is suing King in federal court for breach of contract, fraud and theft.