TechFlow reported that on October 9, Decrypt reported that Gloria Navarro, a federal court judge in Las Vegas, ruled against 86-year-old former California lawyer David Kagel. Kagel was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $14 million in compensation for admitting to participating in a multi-million dollar Bitcoin Ponzi scheme. According to prosecutors, from December 2017 to around June 2022, Kagel and two accomplices lured victims into investing in a fake cryptocurrency robot trading program by promising high returns and zero risk.

The scam defrauded at least $15 million of investor funds. Kagel used his law firm's letterhead to draft letters and send them to victims to build trust. The scam claimed to use trading robots to invest in the cryptocurrency market, "guaranteed" repayment of principal, and promised to make 20% to 100% profit within 30 days. Kagel once claimed to have 1,000 bitcoins worth $11 million as investment guarantee and lied about his experience in cryptocurrency investment.

In 2023, the California Supreme Court revoked Kagel’s law license, after his license had been suspended twice before, in 1997 and 2012.