Newport Beach attorney claims her husband pressured her to bet the millions owed to the loan company – Orange County Register

A Newport Beach lawyer who allegedly scammed a lender out of $10.2million in 2022 to fund a six-month stay at a posh Las Vegas resort where she frequented casinos 24 hours a day now claims her husband scammed her forced to gamble millions in an effort to earn enough to repay the loans.

Sara Jacqueline King, 39, who operates King Family Lending and is a partner at law firm King Reuben, was sued in February by LDR International Limited, based in the British Virgin Islands, for breach of contract, fraud and theft.

LDR International reportedly made 97 loans to King Lending for third party borrowers from January to October 2022. The borrowers’ loans were reportedly secured by collateral including luxury automobiles, boats, yachts, jewelry, watches, coin valuable currency and guaranteed professional income. sports contracts.

However, in each case, King allegedly provided LDR International with forged title deeds, appraisals, photographs and contracts, as well as proof of financing by cashier’s checks with borrower names redacted.

King spent the majority of the loan funds on an extravagant lifestyle at the Wynn Las Vegas resort, where she lived for six months, and played “24/7,” according to LDR International. Ronald Richards, an attorney at the firm, estimated that King lost between $6 million and $7 million.

She could not be reached for comment.

Husband made her do it

Earlier this week, King filed a counterclaim against her husband, Kamran Abbas-Vahid, a French citizen who lives in Morocco, accusing him of pressuring her to play the loan proceeds in a bid to recover money owed to LDR International.

“The cross-complaint is a rambling mess that’s better for TV than a federal district court,” Richards said in an email. “The complaint is without merit as there is no defense against the misuse of my client’s loan proceeds, by lying about the loan collateral. The claim that her husband forced her to gamble the loan proceeds ready and lying about it is not a viable or legal defense.

United States District Court Judge David O. Carter ruled that the counterclaim was deficient because Abbas-Vahid is not a party to LDR International’s lawsuit against King. Carter ordered King to refile the counterclaim by Monday, April 3, explaining the basis of the court’s jurisdiction over Abbas-Vahid.

In January 2022, according to the counterclaim, Abbas-Vahid introduced King to Laurent Reiss, whom he has known for more than 30 years and who is the owner of LDR International.

A deal was reportedly reached in which Reiss would receive 60% of the profits while King would retain 40% of all third-party loans issued by King Family Lending. Subsequently, Reiss loaned King Family Lending $605,000 for three months, with an average interest rate of 72% per annum, according to the counterclaim.

In February and March 2022, King Family Lending reportedly paid $104,600 to LDR International for interest earned on the loans. Subsequently, Reiss asked King to keep the principal amount and any interest earned to fund additional loans, the counterclaim states.

Meanwhile, at Reiss’ insistence, Abbas-Vahid was tasked with verifying the validity of loan agreements, certifying collateral and taking responsibility for all record keeping and accounting, according to King. who balked at the arrangement.

King noted in the counterclaim that Abbas-Vahid did not work and had no money during their five-year relationship, adding that she bought two buildings in Long Beach worth $5 million. dollars for his bankrupt cannabis business.

“Abbas-Vahid quit all businesses when they got tough and instead of getting all the money King invested back, he played golf and tennis every day while King worked,” the counterclaim reads.

King alleges that in April and May 2022, his company defaulted on loans from LDR International when an individual stole collateral that included a 2021 Mercedes Benz G Wagon, a boat and an expensive watch.

game spree

King said Abbas-Vahid warned her not to tell Reiss about the stolen collateral and persuaded her to play slot machines in Las Vegas to recover money lost in overdue loan agreements.

King was in love with Abbas-Vahid and feared he would leave her if she did not cooperate, according to the counterclaim. King alleges that Abbas-Vahid accompanied her while she gambled in the high-limit slots at the Wynn Las Vegas and collected her winnings whenever she hit a big jackpot.

When Abbas-Vahid saw how much King could win playing, he threatened to quit her and vowed to alert Reiss of defaults unless she bet bigger sums to win bigger jackpots, King claims .

The counterclaim alleges that when King refused to comply with Abbas-Vahid’s demands or did not give her his winnings, he left her alone in Las Vegas for days, to return to seduce her and make outrageous demands of him.

In one instance, Abbas-Vahid allegedly persuaded King to buy him a Tesla Model X worth $120,000.

King also said in the counterclaim that she soon realized her lending business could grow in Las Vegas, prompting her to set up meetings at several casinos with high rollers targeted as potential borrowers. .

King sent LDR International a photo of herself with NFL quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen on a Las Vegas golf course in June 2022 to demonstrate her connection to athletes high profile, according to court documents.

volatile relationship

Even as King attempted to expand his business, his relationship with Abbas-Vahid remained unstable.

King recalled in the complaint that while she was on a flight from New York to Los Angeles, Abbas-Vahid contacted the concierge of their apartment to allow someone to enter the unit and take watches. , jewelry, electric bicycles and golf clubs, either owned by her or in the custody of King Family Lending.

In November 2022, King alleges she realized Abbas-Vahid had manipulated her into obtaining a green card, prompting her to tell her immigration attorney in an email that she would not sponsor not his application for US citizenship.

Eventually, Abbas-Vahid kept her promise to throw King “under the bus” and told Reiss she was responsible for all of King Family Lending’s financial losses, according to the counterclaim. King said Abbas-Vahid then fled to Morocco, noting that the country does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

She is claiming at least $75,000 in damages from her husband.