Scott W. Rothstein
Encyclopedia
Scott W. Rothstein is a disbarred lawyer and the former managing shareholder, chairman, and chief executive officer
of the now-defunct Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm. He was accused of funding his philanthropy, political contributions, law firm salaries, and an extravagant lifestyle with a massive 1.2 billion dollar Ponzi scheme
. On December 1, 2009, Rothstein turned himself in to authorities and was subsequently arrested on charges related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
(RICO).
Although his arraignment plea was not guilty, Rothstein cooperated with the Government and reversed his plea to guilty of five federal crimes on January 27, 2010.
Rothstein was denied bond by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Rosenbaum, who ruled that due to his ability to forge documents, he was considered a flight risk.
On June 9, 2010, Rothstein received a 50-year prison sentence after a hearing in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, although federal prosecutors in 2011 filed a motion notifying the court they would be seeking a sentence reduction for Rothstein.
His firm had 70 lawyers and 150 employees, with offices in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tallahassee, Florida
, New York
and Caracas, Venezuela. The firm focused on labor and employment matters, civil rights
, intellectual property
, internet law, corporate espionage, personal injury
, wrongful death, commercial litigation, real estate
, mergers and acquisitions
, and governmental relations.
His client list included: Citicorp, J. C. Penney
, Ed Morse Automotive Group, National Beverage
, Silversea Cruise Lines, Supra Telecom, and Wells Fargo
.
Until he was permanently disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court on November 25, 2009, Rothstein was a member of the Florida Bar and admitted by the United States Supreme Court. He had been given an "AV" peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell.
Rothstein may have stolen millions of dollars from an investment side-business. A list of 259 persons or corporate entities entitled to $279 million in restitution has been sealed by the court.
On November 3, 2009, Federal Bureau of Investigation
and United States Department of the Treasury
agents served a warrant to search the firm's Fort Lauderdale offices. Rothstein sent an email in recent weeks to firm lawyers asking them to investigate which countries refused to extradite criminal suspects to either the U.S. or Israel
, and firm lawyers responded that Morocco
is one such country. Rothstein had wired $16 million to an individual in Casablanca
and left for Casablanca
on October 26, 2009. On October 31, 2009, he sent a suicide
text message note to all of his law partners:
On November 3, 2009, after many texts by Stuart Rosenfeldt, the president of the firm, urging him to "choose life", Rothstein returned to Fort Lauderdale on a chartered jet, (chartered by the ex-husband of Governor Crist's wife, Todd Rome)
from Casablanca
. On November 2, his law firm with only $117,000 in its operating account filed suit against him, asked a judge to dissolve the firm, accusing him of misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars from investor trust accounts in a Ponzi scheme from an investment business he covertly ran out of his law office.
In 2009 Rothstein resided at the Federal Detention Center, Miami
in Downtown Miami
, but was later moved to an undisclosed location and his inmate number removed from the U.S. Bureau of Prison's inmate locator webpage.
as a teenager. A 1988 Juris Doctor graduate of Fort Lauderdale's Nova Southeastern University
's Law School, and a 1984 Bachelor of Arts graduate of University of Florida
, Rothstein's law career began in 1988 and for nearly 15 years, he was relatively anonymous. His local mentors were wealthy attorneys, Donald McClosky and Bill Scherer and entrepreneur, Wayne Huizenga
.
In the early 90's, Rothstein first partnered with attorney Howard Kusnick. First located in Plantation, Fl, Kusnick & Rothstein, P.A. subsequently moved to downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Longtime partner Michael Pancier first joined him there.
In 2000, Rothstein joined with Rosenfeldt as a name partner at the Hollywood firm, Phillips Eisinger Koss & Rosenfeldt, P.A., which became known as Phillips Eisinger Koss Rothstein & Rosenfeldt, P.A
In February 2002, Rothstein and Rosenfeldt started their own firm, first known as Rothstein & Rosenfeldt, P.A. Within a month, Pancier was added as a name partner. In July, 2002, adding Susan Dolin, a well-regarded employment lawyer, now practicing on her own in West Broward, the firm became known as Rothstein, Rosenfeldt, Dolin & Pancier, P.A..
In late 2004, it became known simply as Rothstein Rosenfeldt, with Adler being added in March 2005. Melissa Britt Lewis, murdered in March, 2008, was with Rothstein from the firm's beginning.
In seven years, he and his partners expanded the firm to 70 lawyers, including former Boca Raton Mayor and sitting Palm Beach County Commissioner Steve Abrams; former judges Julio Gonzalez, Barry Stone, and former Palm Beach circuit judge, William Berger; TV and radio legal commentator and former prosecutor, Ken Padowitz; Carlos Reyes, former South Broward Hospital District commissioner and lobbyist; Arthur Neiwirth, a bankruptcy expert; and Les Stracher, former legal counsel for Morse Auto Group, who represents major auto dealers.
Others include: Shawn Birken, son of Circuit Court Judge Arthur Birken; Ben Dishowitz, son of County Court Judge Dishowitz;
and Grant Smith, son of disgraced former Congressman Larry Smith. Andrew Barnett is Corporate Development Officer, and David Boden, an unlicensed attorney in Florida, was the firm's general counsel.
On Wednesday, June 8, 2011, federal prosecutors filed a motion with the sentencing judge informing him that they would be asking for a sentence reduction for Rothstein.
As of November 18, 2009, many of the associates have relocated: Five lawyers moved to Fort Lauderdale-based Rice Pugatch Robinson & Schiller. Steven Lippman and Richard Storfer will be new partners. Riley Cirulnick, George Zinkler and Jodi Cohen are new associates.
In August, 2008, Governor Crist appointed Rothstein as a member of the 4th District Court of Appeal Judicial nominating commission
, a body which is responsible for selecting new judges for appointment to the Court.
Bill Brock accompanied Rothstein to Morocco. His job at the law firm was to issue checks for Rothstein's various ventures and contributions, and had the sole security pass for the area where records of Rothstein's non-law firm businesses were kept.
An observant Jew, Rothstein grew up in a small Bronx apartment, sharing a bedroom with his sister. His father was a salesman "back in the days when you carried a bag up and down the streets of New York." The family moved to Lauderhill, Florida in 1977, when Rothstein was 16. His grandmother used her life savings to help put him through school. "I grew up poor. I'm a lunatic about money."
Rothstein was a large contributor to a synagogue off Las Olas with his name affixed to the front facade: The Rothstein Family Downtown Jewish Center Chabad. Rabbi Schneur Kaplan is one of the two people who talked Rothstein out of committing suicide.
He invests in residential property. In 2003, he paid $1.2 million for an intracoastal waterfront house on Castilla Isle in Fort Lauderdale. In March 2005, he bought a neighboring home belonging to Miami Dolphins
', Ricky Williams
for $2.73 million. While living in Williams' old house, he's purchased two other homes on the street and three other homes in Broward for a total residential investment of nearly $20 million. "They call me the king of Castilla."
In 2008, he purchased a $6.45 million waterfront gated Fort Lauderdale home, a $6 million condo in New York in the same building as Marc Dreier,
and a $2.8 million oceanfront estate in Narragansett
, Rhode Island
formerly owned by troubled client, Michael Kent, a Fort Lauderdale nightclub owner.
He is part-owner with Anthony Bova of the South Beach
Versace
Casa Casuarina mansion, where he was married on January 26, 2008, in a three-day wedding celebration with Governor Crist, and his then-fiancée present wife, Carol Rome, in attendance. A later financial analysis of the 10% property interest Rothstein owned showed that it was worthless.
His second wife, Kimberly Wendell Rothstein, a 35-year-old real-estate agent helps manage his properties, which also include part-ownership of an office building in Pompano Beach. He and Bova also owned Bova Ristorante, formerly long-time generational Italian family-owned Mario's of Boca, which shut down October 18, 2009. Bova Prime , formerly Riley McDermott's on Las Olas Boulevard is still operating. On September 11, 2008, the day before Rothstein took ownership, a dispute involving firearms broke out at Riley McDermott's involving Rothstein's security personnel.
He owns parts of an internet technology called company Qtask and V Georgio Spirits Co.,LLC with CEO Vie Harvey and the Renato
watch company, with partner, Ovi Levy.
Levy is the son of hotelier Shimon Levy, who spent a year in prison in Israel
after hiding a criminal kingpin, suspected of two murders.
Rothstein at one time was a minority shareholder of Edify LLC, a health-care benefits consulting company. State Representative Evan Jenne-D-Dania Beach is a $30,000 company consultant, who previously worked a local bank. Rothstein hired Jenne's father, former sheriff and convicted felon, Ken Jenne
, as a consultant at his law firm days after Jenne was released from prison on corruption charges. An attorney for Rothstein's law firm serves as the registered agent for Evan Jenne's company, Blue Banyan. Grant Smith, a lifelong friend of Evan Jenne's, is an Edify lobbyist. Edify has worked closely with the state Department of Health to develop wellness programs and also influences certain health-care legislation.
His personal office was opulent, with security and a compartmentalized layout. Anyone entering Rothstein's suite of offices had to use an intercom. He could exit, unseen through a second door. In the hallway, an ordinary looking brown door is actually the elevator door. Dozens of surveillance cameras and microphones hang from office ceilings. On his desk: four computer screens and the Five Books of Moses.
Outside his personal office hung a painting of Al Pacino
as Michael Corleone
in The Godfather
. The walls of Rothstein's office and other hallways are lined with photos of himself and politicians including Gov. Charlie Crist
, former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez
, Senator John McCain
, Broward
Sheriff Al Lamberti
, Rudy Giuliani
, Joe Lieberman
, Bill McCollum
, and Dan Marino
.
He was ostensibly an affluent and successful attorney with all the material trappings of a flamboyant lifestyle, including armed body guards and police protection. Twenty-eight city police officials, including captains, majors, undercover officers and the department spokesman, helped guard his home and businesses, the only person in the department's history to have permanent round-the-clock off-duty police protection at his home. The department suspended all work for Rothstein on Nov. 2, 2009.
He had a Boeing 727
jet and in 2002, flew Bill Clinton
, Kevin Spacey
, and Chris Tucker
to Africa
on an anti-AIDS
mission.
He owns an 87 feet (26.5 m) $5 million Warren yacht
. His fleet of exotic cars included: 1974, 2006, 2007, and 2008 Ferrari
s, 2009 Bentley
, 2007 Silver Rolls-Royce
, and one 2008 and two 2010 Lamborghini Murcielago
s — worth about $400,000 each, a pair of $1.6 million Bugatti
s, and a pair of Harleys which he maintains in an air-conditioned warehouse.
All were allegedly purchased and traded from Euromotorsports, the owner of which has an extensive criminal record.
All were seized shortly after his return from Morocco. He has a watch collection of over 100, valued at $1 million.
In 2008, He was working on opening a cigar and martini bar on Las Olas Boulevard and two high-rise residential buildings in Brooklyn
with New York partner Dominic Tonnachio. He was to take ownership of a "series of office buildings" on Oakland Park Boulevard.
Roger Stone
, political trickster for Richard Nixon
and Rothstein were partners in RRA Consulting, an LLC which was set up to provide public affairs assistance to the RRA law firm's legal clients. According to Stone that business never generated any clients. It was dissolved in late 2008. On August 27, 2009, Stone, the recipient of Rothstein's sponsorship of his blog until July 29, 2009, "StoneZone", wrote a column recommending Rothstein for the seat vacated by Senator Mel Martinez
- a man with "a distinguished legal record, has been a key supporter of Governor Crist and John McCain, has an unmatched record of philanthropic activities and would bring an unconventional style of getting things done to Washington. Add Rothstein to the short list."
On November 4, 2009, Stone wrote, "Rothstein had no prior business success, no business acumen nor track record that would engender confidence in an investor. He could not read a balance sheet. He could not write or read a business plan. Rothstein was a lawyer, not an entrepreneur." Stone claims he has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) "so severe he never finished a martini, a cigar, a thought, or a sentence, never mind a transaction." According to Stone, Neither law firm name partner Russell Adler nor Stuart Rosenfeldt were signatories on the RRA Trust Account.
He "appeared to be something out of a Great Gatsby movie."
in Fort Lauderdale, where a lobby will be named after him and his wife. On October 31, 2009 his firm sponsored at a charity golf tournament featuring former Gov. Jeb Bush
.
Between 2007 and 2008, he donated $2 million to the American Heart Association
, Women in Distress
, Alonzo Mourning
Charities, Here's Help, and the Dan Marino
Foundation.
Politicians of both parties have pledged to donate to charity or return his political contributions. On November 3, 2009, the Florida Republican Party
, announced it would give Rothstein's donations ($600,000) to a charity. Gov. Charlie Crist's Senate Campaign ($100,550), state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink
($2,050), Senate President Jeff Atwater, Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff
, and the Florida Democratic Party ($200,000) will return some or all of his contributions.
In June 2009, Harry Reid
, the Democratic Senate majority leader received a contribution of $4,800. A list of FEC
filings indexed by NewsMeat include a total of $166,800 to the Republican Party and candidates, including $109,800 to John McCain
's 2008 presidential campaign, and $17,600 to Democratic candidates.
. She is co-owner with Rothstein in a home at 2307 Castilla Isle, as of May 2009. According to records, Rothstein originally purchased the property in September 2007, for $ 1.75 million, and sold it for $10 to a shell corporation in September 2009.
In 2005, the year the Ponzi scheme allegedly began, Villegas earned $80,000 a year. In 2007, her salary had increased to $145,000. Villegas received two Swiss watches — a Rolex
and a Breitling — from her "employer". Rothstein paid off her couch and a bedroom set and held title to her two Honda
water scooters. Villegas was living in a $475,000 Weston home that Rothstein signed over to her in July 2009 for $100 and "love and affection," according to the deed. Villegas registered a 2009 $100,000 Maserati
GranTurismo at the home in January, 2009. In November 2009, Federal prosecutors seized the home, alleging it was among Rothstein's ill-gotten assets.
Villegas' estranged husband, Tony Villegas, was charged on circumstantial evidence
in the March 2008 murder in Plantation, Florida
of Melissa Britt Lewis, a partner in Rothstein's firm. Although early news reports wondered at whether the evidence was substantial, according to New Times, "Nine days later, forensic testing revealed that Tony's DNA had been found on Melissa's suit jacket – the same jacket she wore on the day she died."
Police sealed the arrest affidavit.
As a result of the homicide and the nature of the legal business, Rothstein has a team of "executive protection specialists" to guard the firm and his family, his teen-aged daughter. The prosecutor who had first worked on the Villegas case, Howard Scheinberg, went to work for Rosenfeldt Rothstein Adler. Villegas,a train conductor, remains in jail awaiting trial. The motive was supposedly revenge for Lewis's closeness with Debra.
Debra and Melissa share a therapist: Ilene Vinikoor, whose husband, David represents unlicensed general counsel, David Boden in the Ponzi scheme investigation.
entered an order permanently disbarring Rothstein on November 25, 2009. Rothstein was removed from the Broward County Grievance Committee, and his name has also been removed from the database of The Best Lawyers in America.
On Sunday, November 8, 2009, Sakowitz appeared with Kendall Coffey, attorney for Rothstein's law partners, on the Michael Putney Show on WPLG-TV, MIAMI, correcting Coffey for claiming that Rothstein's "investments" involved structured settlements, which they did not. (Note: "structured settlements" as defined by Rothstein in press reports do not meet the definition in IRC 5891(C)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code
. Rothstein's resemble investments in pre-settlement funding
or pre-settlement financing.)
The FBI estimates the loss to be up to a billion dollars from lucrative whistle-blower and employment discrimination
cases.
The investors would make up-front cash payments to individuals owed money from the court cases to buy the right to collect the full amount of the settlements later. The investor was guaranteed a minimum of 20 percent investment returns in as little as three months.
Although it did not appear completely legitimate, and it might have appeared that the plaintiffs were short-changed, it makes sense to the potential investor. The idea seems solid. The investor thinks that with enough of these cases at Rothstein's law firm, he could make huge sums of money.
Rothstein then discusses other larger cases: Eli Lilly and Company
, involving $1.4 billion with plaintiff representation by Gary Farmer, a firm attorney who negotiated the settlement and who brought the case with him when he arrived at the firm. Several inside whistleblowers went to the fed with unlawful practices regarding the marketing and sales of an anti-psychotic medication called Zyprexa. It was one of the largest qui tam
cases in history.
He tells the investor about a potential (allegedly fabricated) case where investors would buy whistle-blower million dollar settlements with a sixty percent short term investor profit. The arrangement would be completely secret; the investor would never know the name of the company or the whistle-blower. The settlement money would be deposited into a trust account at TD Bank, accessible only to the investor at the appropriate time. David Boden follows up with all questions and negotiates the contract.
On November 3, 2009, retired Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Herbert Stettin was appointed the firm's receiver, responsible for approving the firm's day-to-day financial decisions. Firm president and 50% owner of the firm, Stuart Rosenfeldt, "deposited two-thirds of my life savings in my firm's operating account" to prop up finances in the short-term.
Marc Nurik is representing Rothstein, and has stepped down as a lawyer from the firm. The prosecutors are Lawrence D. LaVecchio, Paul F. Schwartz and Jeffrey N. Kaplan. They have decades of experience investigating public corruption
, white-collar
fraud
and organized crime
. They are preparing a massive fraud case against Rothstein, zeroing in on his settlement investments, and also allegations of theft from his law firm and client trust accounts.
On November 25, 2009, Attorney William Scherer filed a 289-page Amended Complaint seeking $100,000,000 in civil damages on behalf of his clients, and naming : Toronto Dominion Bank and its associates, Frank Spinosa, Jennifer Kerstetter, and Rosanne Karetsky, Irene Stay, Banyon Income Fund, L.P., Banyon USVI, LLC, George G. Levin, Michael Szafranski, Onyx Options Consultants Corporation, Berenfeld Spritzer Shechter Sheer, LLP., as well as Rothstein and his associates, David Boden, Debra Villegas, Andrew Barnett, and Frank J. Preve, as defendants/co-conspirators
.
The Amended Complaint lists people and businesses to whom Rothstein allegedly wired money while he was en route to or inside of Morocco: Rothstein wired $16 million to his tour guide from Boca Raton, Florida, "Ahnick Kahlid". Kahlid transferred the money to Rothstein's new Moroccan bank account opened upon his arrival with a passport as identification at Banque Populaire in Casablanca;
The recipients allegedly are members of the "Israeli Mob"; New York Investors; Florida Investors; Real Estate Investors; and Levin Feeders.
Scherer has said that his clients and all other investors who weren't complicit in the crime will have their money returned. Due to the extreme negligence
, TD Bank is liable. "My goal is to get all the money back for the investors from the bank," Scherer said.
On January 27, 2010 Scherer filed an affidavit alleging that Michael Szafranski was complicit in Rothstein's fraud, receiving almost $6.5 million in "ill-gotten" gains directly from Rothstein.
and spent a year in an Israeli prison for hiding a mob figure suspected of two "grisly murders". In 1997, his partner at the Sea Club Resort on Fort Lauderdale beach, Zvika Yuz, was a victim of a murder which remains unsolved. His son, Ovi contacted the Plantation Police Department and began receiving protection during the time Rothstein fled to Morocco.
and kept an office inside Rothstein et al. He is a convicted bank fraud
and embezzlement
felon
. He pleaded guilty to bank embezzlement charges in 1985 and received ten years probation
and a $10,000 fine for falsifying loan documents in another fraudulent scheme. Banyon and other Rothstein investors' accounts were held at a Toronto-Dominion Bank branch in Fort Lauderdale.
, reportedly raised a hedge fund that dumped $30 million into Rothstein's scheme, pitched to by George Levin's Banyon.
, in a 2-story, 11000 square feet (1,021.9 m²) home with 8 bathrooms and a large pool, valued at $2 million.
Levin has a pattern of filing complaints when his unsavory/fraudulent business ventures are exposed. According to federal court documents, from 1985–1996 Levin's former business GGL Industries, dba Classic Motor Carriages defrauded hundreds of customers, selling kit cars. The federal government filed criminal charges against the company and GGL pleaded guilty to mail fraud in 1999 and agreed to pay $2.5 million in restitution.
Stuart Rado had been a consumer activist who organized GGL's victims and helped spur the government action. Levin subsequently sued Rado for violating the Florida Trade Secrets Act. Rado was diagnosed with cancer during the lawsuit. It was a classic frivolous SLAPP suit ("Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation"). On September 19, 1997, the finding against Mr. Rado was that he pay plaintiff's attorneys' fees.
Although a convicted felon, GGL hounded Rado's estate for the payment of $80,000 in attorney's fees.
The state of Florida
filed suit against the company alleging deceptive business practices and civil theft. A special assistant attorney general, Herbert Stettin lead the investigation. Stettin is now the trustee
overseeing the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler bankruptcy case.
Levin continues to sell kit cars under a different company name, StreetBeasts.
According to a Florida District Court of Appeals case published in 2002, Levin acquired property free and clear for less than the cost of the first mortgage, through a fraudulent transfer
Banyon had paid Rothstein's firm at least $656 million, but the law firm anticipated $1.1 billion over a maximum 24-month period. It allegedly received and reinvested about $500 million. Levin expected to make 40% over 24 months but to only pay out 24%. Rothstein's law firm's IOLTA trust accounts established “for the plaintiff” in the purported litigation settlements were used to fund the phony settlement accounts, after the law firm had paid its overhead, keeping its insolvent operation afloat, which included “gifts” to partners and money given to politicians, charities, and pay for a massive advertising budget, as well as Rothstein's personal lifestyle, over three years, amounting to approximately a $500 million loss.
The interest on the funded IOLTA accounts went to the Florida Bar monthly, which was many millions, based on the Banyon contributions. In its prospectus, Banyon claimed to have a legal opinion that Banyon’s interest in the IOLTA trust accounts “perfected automatically on execution of the transfer documents” – that the lawsuit proceeds assignments created by general counsel, David Boden. The LP’s were warned that they could be taxed on the Partnership’s income and realized gains even if no distributions were made. As long as reinvestments were ongoing, the ponzi scheme was facilitated.
2. BFMC Investment LLC, owned by Barry Florescue: $2.4 million
3. Socialite art dealer Bonnie Barnett, mother of defendant, Andrew Barnett
4. The family of car dealers, Ed and Ted Morse.
5. Ballamor Capital Management, Radnor, PA: $30 million.
On November 19, 2009, Rothstein never appeared for a deposition, noticed in the bankruptcy
case by investors' attorney John Genovese at Genovese's law office.
Banyon and other Rothstein investors' accounts were held at a Toronto-Dominion Bank branch in Fort Lauderdale.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the now-defunct Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm. He was accused of funding his philanthropy, political contributions, law firm salaries, and an extravagant lifestyle with a massive 1.2 billion dollar Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
. On December 1, 2009, Rothstein turned himself in to authorities and was subsequently arrested on charges related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
(RICO).
Although his arraignment plea was not guilty, Rothstein cooperated with the Government and reversed his plea to guilty of five federal crimes on January 27, 2010.
Rothstein was denied bond by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Rosenbaum, who ruled that due to his ability to forge documents, he was considered a flight risk.
On June 9, 2010, Rothstein received a 50-year prison sentence after a hearing in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, although federal prosecutors in 2011 filed a motion notifying the court they would be seeking a sentence reduction for Rothstein.
His firm had 70 lawyers and 150 employees, with offices in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tallahassee, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Caracas, Venezuela. The firm focused on labor and employment matters, civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
, intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
, internet law, corporate espionage, personal injury
Personal injury
Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. The term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit alleging that the plaintiff's injury has been caused by the negligence of another, but also arises in defamation...
, wrongful death, commercial litigation, real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
, mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
, and governmental relations.
His client list included: Citicorp, J. C. Penney
J. C. Penney
-External links:*...
, Ed Morse Automotive Group, National Beverage
National Beverage
National Beverage Corp. is a second tier U.S. beverage developer, manufacturer, and distributor based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida focused on flavored soft drinks. National Beverage Corp. is ranked by Beverage Digest as the fifth-largest soft drink company in the United States.-History:The company...
, Silversea Cruise Lines, Supra Telecom, and Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
.
Until he was permanently disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court on November 25, 2009, Rothstein was a member of the Florida Bar and admitted by the United States Supreme Court. He had been given an "AV" peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell.
Rothstein may have stolen millions of dollars from an investment side-business. A list of 259 persons or corporate entities entitled to $279 million in restitution has been sealed by the court.
On November 3, 2009, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
and United States Department of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
agents served a warrant to search the firm's Fort Lauderdale offices. Rothstein sent an email in recent weeks to firm lawyers asking them to investigate which countries refused to extradite criminal suspects to either the U.S. or Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and firm lawyers responded that Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
is one such country. Rothstein had wired $16 million to an individual in Casablanca
and left for Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
on October 26, 2009. On October 31, 2009, he sent a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
text message note to all of his law partners:
"Sorry for letting you all down. I am a fool. I thought I could fix it, but got trapped by my ego and refusal to fail, and now all I have accomplished is hurting the people I love. Please take care of yourselves and please protect Kimmie (Rothstein's wife). She knew nothing. Neither did she, nor any of you deserve what I did. I hope God allows me to see you on the other side. Love, Scott."
On November 3, 2009, after many texts by Stuart Rosenfeldt, the president of the firm, urging him to "choose life", Rothstein returned to Fort Lauderdale on a chartered jet, (chartered by the ex-husband of Governor Crist's wife, Todd Rome)
from Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
. On November 2, his law firm with only $117,000 in its operating account filed suit against him, asked a judge to dissolve the firm, accusing him of misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars from investor trust accounts in a Ponzi scheme from an investment business he covertly ran out of his law office.
In 2009 Rothstein resided at the Federal Detention Center, Miami
Federal Detention Center, Miami
Federal Detention Center, Miami is a prison operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It is located east of Miami International Airport at the corner of NE. 4th Street and N. Miami Avenue...
in Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...
, but was later moved to an undisclosed location and his inmate number removed from the U.S. Bureau of Prison's inmate locator webpage.
Background and career
Rothstein was born in the Bronx and moved with his parents to Lauderhill, FloridaLauderhill, Florida
Lauderhill is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 66,887. It is part of the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census....
as a teenager. A 1988 Juris Doctor graduate of Fort Lauderdale's Nova Southeastern University
Nova Southeastern University
Nova Southeastern University, commonly referred to as NSU or Nova, is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, research university located in Broward County, Florida, with its main campus in the town of Davie...
's Law School, and a 1984 Bachelor of Arts graduate of University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, Rothstein's law career began in 1988 and for nearly 15 years, he was relatively anonymous. His local mentors were wealthy attorneys, Donald McClosky and Bill Scherer and entrepreneur, Wayne Huizenga
Wayne Huizenga
Harry Wayne Huizenga is an American businessman who grew Blockbuster Video, Waste Management, Inc., and AutoNation into successful companies. He is the former owner of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins, the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers and the Major League Baseball's Miami...
.
In the early 90's, Rothstein first partnered with attorney Howard Kusnick. First located in Plantation, Fl, Kusnick & Rothstein, P.A. subsequently moved to downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Longtime partner Michael Pancier first joined him there.
In 2000, Rothstein joined with Rosenfeldt as a name partner at the Hollywood firm, Phillips Eisinger Koss & Rosenfeldt, P.A., which became known as Phillips Eisinger Koss Rothstein & Rosenfeldt, P.A
In February 2002, Rothstein and Rosenfeldt started their own firm, first known as Rothstein & Rosenfeldt, P.A. Within a month, Pancier was added as a name partner. In July, 2002, adding Susan Dolin, a well-regarded employment lawyer, now practicing on her own in West Broward, the firm became known as Rothstein, Rosenfeldt, Dolin & Pancier, P.A..
In late 2004, it became known simply as Rothstein Rosenfeldt, with Adler being added in March 2005. Melissa Britt Lewis, murdered in March, 2008, was with Rothstein from the firm's beginning.
In seven years, he and his partners expanded the firm to 70 lawyers, including former Boca Raton Mayor and sitting Palm Beach County Commissioner Steve Abrams; former judges Julio Gonzalez, Barry Stone, and former Palm Beach circuit judge, William Berger; TV and radio legal commentator and former prosecutor, Ken Padowitz; Carlos Reyes, former South Broward Hospital District commissioner and lobbyist; Arthur Neiwirth, a bankruptcy expert; and Les Stracher, former legal counsel for Morse Auto Group, who represents major auto dealers.
Others include: Shawn Birken, son of Circuit Court Judge Arthur Birken; Ben Dishowitz, son of County Court Judge Dishowitz;
and Grant Smith, son of disgraced former Congressman Larry Smith. Andrew Barnett is Corporate Development Officer, and David Boden, an unlicensed attorney in Florida, was the firm's general counsel.
Recent
On September 8, 2011, U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn granted the government's motion to prohibit videotaping Rothstein during a scheduled deposition of him, citing “serious harm” and “security reasons that are unusual in nature.” The exact reasons for the judges decision were sealed. This fueled speculation that his appearance was altered or he was a mafia target due to his cooperation with the prosecution against the mafia.On Wednesday, June 8, 2011, federal prosecutors filed a motion with the sentencing judge informing him that they would be asking for a sentence reduction for Rothstein.
As of November 18, 2009, many of the associates have relocated: Five lawyers moved to Fort Lauderdale-based Rice Pugatch Robinson & Schiller. Steven Lippman and Richard Storfer will be new partners. Riley Cirulnick, George Zinkler and Jodi Cohen are new associates.
In August, 2008, Governor Crist appointed Rothstein as a member of the 4th District Court of Appeal Judicial nominating commission
Judicial nominating commission
A judicial nominating commission in the United States, is a body used by some U.S. states to recommend or select potential justices and judges for appointments by state governments....
, a body which is responsible for selecting new judges for appointment to the Court.
Bill Brock accompanied Rothstein to Morocco. His job at the law firm was to issue checks for Rothstein's various ventures and contributions, and had the sole security pass for the area where records of Rothstein's non-law firm businesses were kept.
An observant Jew, Rothstein grew up in a small Bronx apartment, sharing a bedroom with his sister. His father was a salesman "back in the days when you carried a bag up and down the streets of New York." The family moved to Lauderhill, Florida in 1977, when Rothstein was 16. His grandmother used her life savings to help put him through school. "I grew up poor. I'm a lunatic about money."
"I have a deep faith in Judaism that I derive tremendous strength from. Putting on TefillinTefillinTefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
is a means of connecting with G-d. It keeps me grounded in a world that can easily cause you to lose your internal balance. Believe me.... I have lost my way enough times to know." – Scott Rothstein, October 23, 2008.
Rothstein was a large contributor to a synagogue off Las Olas with his name affixed to the front facade: The Rothstein Family Downtown Jewish Center Chabad. Rabbi Schneur Kaplan is one of the two people who talked Rothstein out of committing suicide.
He invests in residential property. In 2003, he paid $1.2 million for an intracoastal waterfront house on Castilla Isle in Fort Lauderdale. In March 2005, he bought a neighboring home belonging to Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
', Ricky Williams
Ricky Williams
Errick Lynne "Ricky" Williams, Jr. is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints fifth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft...
for $2.73 million. While living in Williams' old house, he's purchased two other homes on the street and three other homes in Broward for a total residential investment of nearly $20 million. "They call me the king of Castilla."
In 2008, he purchased a $6.45 million waterfront gated Fort Lauderdale home, a $6 million condo in New York in the same building as Marc Dreier,
and a $2.8 million oceanfront estate in Narragansett
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 15,868 at the 2010 census, but there is a greater population in the summer. The nickname for the town is "Gansett". The town of Narragansett occupies a narrow strip of land running along the eastern bank...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
formerly owned by troubled client, Michael Kent, a Fort Lauderdale nightclub owner.
He is part-owner with Anthony Bova of the South Beach
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...
Versace
Versace
Gianni Versace S.p.A. , usually referred to as Versace, is an Italian fashion label founded by Gianni Versace in 1978.The first Versace boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978, and its popularity was immediate. Today, Versace is one of the world's leading international fashion houses...
Casa Casuarina mansion, where he was married on January 26, 2008, in a three-day wedding celebration with Governor Crist, and his then-fiancée present wife, Carol Rome, in attendance. A later financial analysis of the 10% property interest Rothstein owned showed that it was worthless.
His second wife, Kimberly Wendell Rothstein, a 35-year-old real-estate agent helps manage his properties, which also include part-ownership of an office building in Pompano Beach. He and Bova also owned Bova Ristorante, formerly long-time generational Italian family-owned Mario's of Boca, which shut down October 18, 2009. Bova Prime , formerly Riley McDermott's on Las Olas Boulevard is still operating. On September 11, 2008, the day before Rothstein took ownership, a dispute involving firearms broke out at Riley McDermott's involving Rothstein's security personnel.
He owns parts of an internet technology called company Qtask and V Georgio Spirits Co.,LLC with CEO Vie Harvey and the Renato
Renato
-People:* Renato, a given name derived from the Latin name Renatus .* San Renato, a saint of the Catholic Church.* Renato Vallanzasca, notorious Milanese mobster during the 1970s....
watch company, with partner, Ovi Levy.
Levy is the son of hotelier Shimon Levy, who spent a year in prison in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
after hiding a criminal kingpin, suspected of two murders.
Rothstein at one time was a minority shareholder of Edify LLC, a health-care benefits consulting company. State Representative Evan Jenne-D-Dania Beach is a $30,000 company consultant, who previously worked a local bank. Rothstein hired Jenne's father, former sheriff and convicted felon, Ken Jenne
Ken Jenne
Kenneth C. "Ken" Jenne II , is a former Democratic member of the Florida State Senate and a former sheriff of Broward County, which encompasses Fort Lauderdale in southeastern Florida. Jenne resigned as sheriff in September 2007, after having pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion and mail fraud...
, as a consultant at his law firm days after Jenne was released from prison on corruption charges. An attorney for Rothstein's law firm serves as the registered agent for Evan Jenne's company, Blue Banyan. Grant Smith, a lifelong friend of Evan Jenne's, is an Edify lobbyist. Edify has worked closely with the state Department of Health to develop wellness programs and also influences certain health-care legislation.
"The Great Gatsby"
In the 2008 interview at his law firm, Rothstein described himself and told how he controlled all aspects of the firm's management:
This is where the evil happens. Look, I sleep in the bed I make. I tend toward the flashy side, but it's a persona. It's just a fucking persona.... People ask me, 'When do you sleep?' I say I'll sleep when I'm dead. I'm a true GeminiGemini (astrology)Gemini is the third astrological sign in the Zodiac, which spans the Zodiac between the 60th and 89th degree of celestial longitude. Generally, the Sun transits this area of the zodiac between May 21 to June 20 each year...
. I joke around that there are 43 people living in my head and you never know what you're going to get. There are some philanthropists in there, some good lawyers, and I like to think some good businessmen. There are also some guys from the streets of the Bronx that stay hidden away until I need them. Does that sound crazy? I am crazy, but crazy in a good way.
His personal office was opulent, with security and a compartmentalized layout. Anyone entering Rothstein's suite of offices had to use an intercom. He could exit, unseen through a second door. In the hallway, an ordinary looking brown door is actually the elevator door. Dozens of surveillance cameras and microphones hang from office ceilings. On his desk: four computer screens and the Five Books of Moses.
Outside his personal office hung a painting of Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
as Michael Corleone
Michael Corleone
Michael Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novels, The Godfather and The Sicilian. He is also the main character of the Godfather film trilogy that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino, who was twice nominated for an Academy Award for his...
in The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
. The walls of Rothstein's office and other hallways are lined with photos of himself and politicians including Gov. Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
, former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez
Mel Martinez
Melquíades Rafael Martínez Ruiz, usually known as Mel Martinez , is a former United States Senator from Florida and served as Chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19, 2007, the first Latino to serve as chairman of a major party...
, Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, Broward
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...
Sheriff Al Lamberti
Al Lamberti
Al Lamberti is the current Sheriff of Broward County, which encompasses Fort Lauderdale in southeastern Florida.-Education:Lamberti Attended Florida State University for two years from 1972 to 1974. He later received an Associate of Science in Law Enforcement in 1977, from Palm Beach Community...
, Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, Joe Lieberman
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman is the senior United States Senator from Connecticut. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently an independent, he remains closely affiliated with the party.Born in Stamford, Connecticut,...
, Bill McCollum
Bill McCollum
Ira William "Bill" McCollum, Jr. is a former Florida Attorney General. A Republican, he was Florida's 36th attorney general, taking office in 2007...
, and Dan Marino
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League...
.
He was ostensibly an affluent and successful attorney with all the material trappings of a flamboyant lifestyle, including armed body guards and police protection. Twenty-eight city police officials, including captains, majors, undercover officers and the department spokesman, helped guard his home and businesses, the only person in the department's history to have permanent round-the-clock off-duty police protection at his home. The department suspended all work for Rothstein on Nov. 2, 2009.
He had a Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
jet and in 2002, flew Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
, and Chris Tucker
Chris Tucker
Christopher "Chris" Tucker is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the role of Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series.-Early life:...
to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
on an anti-AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
mission.
He owns an 87 feet (26.5 m) $5 million Warren yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
. His fleet of exotic cars included: 1974, 2006, 2007, and 2008 Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
s, 2009 Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
, 2007 Silver Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is a British manufacturer of luxury automobiles based at the Goodwood plant in West Sussex, England. It is the current producer of Rolls-Royce branded automobiles, whose historical production dates back to 1904. The factory is located across from the historic Goodwood Circuit...
, and one 2008 and two 2010 Lamborghini Murcielago
Lamborghini Murciélago
The Lamborghini Murciélago is a two-door, two-seat sports car produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini between 2001 and 2010. Successor to the Diablo and flagship of the automaker's lineup, the Murciélago was introduced as a coupé in 2001. The automaker's first new design in eleven years, the car...
s — worth about $400,000 each, a pair of $1.6 million Bugatti
Bugatti
Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....
s, and a pair of Harleys which he maintains in an air-conditioned warehouse.
All were allegedly purchased and traded from Euromotorsports, the owner of which has an extensive criminal record.
All were seized shortly after his return from Morocco. He has a watch collection of over 100, valued at $1 million.
In 2008, He was working on opening a cigar and martini bar on Las Olas Boulevard and two high-rise residential buildings in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
with New York partner Dominic Tonnachio. He was to take ownership of a "series of office buildings" on Oakland Park Boulevard.
Roger Stone
Roger Stone
Roger J. Stone, Jr. is an American political consultant and lobbyist who specializes in opposition research for the Republican National Committee in the United States....
, political trickster for Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
and Rothstein were partners in RRA Consulting, an LLC which was set up to provide public affairs assistance to the RRA law firm's legal clients. According to Stone that business never generated any clients. It was dissolved in late 2008. On August 27, 2009, Stone, the recipient of Rothstein's sponsorship of his blog until July 29, 2009, "StoneZone", wrote a column recommending Rothstein for the seat vacated by Senator Mel Martinez
Mel Martinez
Melquíades Rafael Martínez Ruiz, usually known as Mel Martinez , is a former United States Senator from Florida and served as Chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19, 2007, the first Latino to serve as chairman of a major party...
- a man with "a distinguished legal record, has been a key supporter of Governor Crist and John McCain, has an unmatched record of philanthropic activities and would bring an unconventional style of getting things done to Washington. Add Rothstein to the short list."
On November 4, 2009, Stone wrote, "Rothstein had no prior business success, no business acumen nor track record that would engender confidence in an investor. He could not read a balance sheet. He could not write or read a business plan. Rothstein was a lawyer, not an entrepreneur." Stone claims he has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) "so severe he never finished a martini, a cigar, a thought, or a sentence, never mind a transaction." According to Stone, Neither law firm name partner Russell Adler nor Stuart Rosenfeldt were signatories on the RRA Trust Account.
“My family said that the higher you get on the poll, the more people see your ass. You better be sure your ass is clean. My ass is clean.”
– Scott Rothstein
He "appeared to be something out of a Great Gatsby movie."
"Nobody can really be surprised by this spectacular fall – the question wasn't whether it would happen, but when. How Rothstein was able to generate this kind of money practicing law seemed impossible." – Michael Goldberg, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who serves as a court receiver in Ponzi cases.
Philanthropy and Political Contributions
In 2008, his Rothstein Family Foundation gave $1 million to Holy Cross HospitalHoly Cross Hospital (Fort Lauderdale)
Holy Cross Hospital is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The hospital is a non-profit Catholic hospital, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy and a member of Catholic Health East....
in Fort Lauderdale, where a lobby will be named after him and his wife. On October 31, 2009 his firm sponsored at a charity golf tournament featuring former Gov. Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
.
Between 2007 and 2008, he donated $2 million to the American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
, Women in Distress
Women in Distress
Women in Distress is a nationally accredited, state-certified, full service domestic violence center in Broward County, Florida. WID adopts a total family systems approach, and supports the inclusive model of domestic violence advocated by Stop Abuse For Everyone...
, Alonzo Mourning
Alonzo Mourning
Alonzo Harding Mourning, Jr. is a former American professional basketball player, who played most of his 15-year NBA career for the Miami Heat....
Charities, Here's Help, and the Dan Marino
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League...
Foundation.
Politicians of both parties have pledged to donate to charity or return his political contributions. On November 3, 2009, the Florida Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, announced it would give Rothstein's donations ($600,000) to a charity. Gov. Charlie Crist's Senate Campaign ($100,550), state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink
Alex Sink
Adelaide "Alex" Sink is an American politician of the Democratic Party. Sink was the Chief Financial Officer for the state of Florida and treasurer on the board of trustees of the Florida State Board of Administration...
($2,050), Senate President Jeff Atwater, Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff
Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff
Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff is a Representative in the House of Representatives of the U.S. state of Florida. She received her Bachelors degree from the University of Florida in 1980. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her family.Sen. Bogdanoff voted in favor of legislation prohibiting doctors...
, and the Florida Democratic Party ($200,000) will return some or all of his contributions.
In June 2009, Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
, the Democratic Senate majority leader received a contribution of $4,800. A list of FEC
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
filings indexed by NewsMeat include a total of $166,800 to the Republican Party and candidates, including $109,800 to John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
's 2008 presidential campaign, and $17,600 to Democratic candidates.
Law partner murder
Debra Villegas, who handles his money, is the law firm's chief operating officerChief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
. She is co-owner with Rothstein in a home at 2307 Castilla Isle, as of May 2009. According to records, Rothstein originally purchased the property in September 2007, for $ 1.75 million, and sold it for $10 to a shell corporation in September 2009.
In 2005, the year the Ponzi scheme allegedly began, Villegas earned $80,000 a year. In 2007, her salary had increased to $145,000. Villegas received two Swiss watches — a Rolex
Rolex
Rolex SA is a Swiss watchmaking manufacturer of high-quality, luxury wristwatches. Rolex watches are popularly regarded as status symbols and BusinessWeek magazine ranks Rolex No.71 on its 2007 annual list of the 100 most valuable global brands...
and a Breitling — from her "employer". Rothstein paid off her couch and a bedroom set and held title to her two Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
water scooters. Villegas was living in a $475,000 Weston home that Rothstein signed over to her in July 2009 for $100 and "love and affection," according to the deed. Villegas registered a 2009 $100,000 Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
GranTurismo at the home in January, 2009. In November 2009, Federal prosecutors seized the home, alleging it was among Rothstein's ill-gotten assets.
Villegas' estranged husband, Tony Villegas, was charged on circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence is evidence in which an inference is required to connect it to a conclusion of fact, like a fingerprint at the scene of a crime...
in the March 2008 murder in Plantation, Florida
Plantation, Florida
Plantation is the name of the following places in the U.S. state of Florida:*Plantation, Florida, a city in Broward County; the largest of the places named "Plantation" in Florida*Plantation, Sarasota County, Florida, a census-designated place...
of Melissa Britt Lewis, a partner in Rothstein's firm. Although early news reports wondered at whether the evidence was substantial, according to New Times, "Nine days later, forensic testing revealed that Tony's DNA had been found on Melissa's suit jacket – the same jacket she wore on the day she died."
Police sealed the arrest affidavit.
As a result of the homicide and the nature of the legal business, Rothstein has a team of "executive protection specialists" to guard the firm and his family, his teen-aged daughter. The prosecutor who had first worked on the Villegas case, Howard Scheinberg, went to work for Rosenfeldt Rothstein Adler. Villegas,a train conductor, remains in jail awaiting trial. The motive was supposedly revenge for Lewis's closeness with Debra.
Debra and Melissa share a therapist: Ilene Vinikoor, whose husband, David represents unlicensed general counsel, David Boden in the Ponzi scheme investigation.
"You get anger from people... 'that prick from the Bronx. They say I'm building the law firm too fast, that it must be a house of cards."
"Disbarment on consent"
On November 17, 2009, the Florida Bar Executive Committee voted to accept a request by Rothstein to be disbarred. The Florida Supreme CourtFlorida Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. The Supreme Court consists of seven judges: the Chief Justice and six Justices who are appointed by the Governor to 6-year terms and remain in office if retained in a general election near the end of each...
entered an order permanently disbarring Rothstein on November 25, 2009. Rothstein was removed from the Broward County Grievance Committee, and his name has also been removed from the database of The Best Lawyers in America.
Trust account
Rothstein, Rosenfeldt, and Adler's trust account was part of the Interest on Lawyer Trust Account (IOLTA) program that was paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a month to the Florida Bar Foundation.$1.2 billion Ponzi scheme
Rothstein's investment scheme involved purchasing fabricated "structured settlements," in which people sell large settlements in legal cases for lump sums of cash. Alan Sakowitz, an attorney and real estate developer in Bay Harbor Islands, said that he contacted the FBI in September with concerns about Rothstein.On Sunday, November 8, 2009, Sakowitz appeared with Kendall Coffey, attorney for Rothstein's law partners, on the Michael Putney Show on WPLG-TV, MIAMI, correcting Coffey for claiming that Rothstein's "investments" involved structured settlements, which they did not. (Note: "structured settlements" as defined by Rothstein in press reports do not meet the definition in IRC 5891(C)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code
Internal Revenue Code
The Internal Revenue Code is the domestic portion of Federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 of the United States Code...
. Rothstein's resemble investments in pre-settlement funding
or pre-settlement financing.)
The FBI estimates the loss to be up to a billion dollars from lucrative whistle-blower and employment discrimination
Employment discrimination
Employment discrimination is discrimination in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, and compensation. It includes various types of harassment....
cases.
The investors would make up-front cash payments to individuals owed money from the court cases to buy the right to collect the full amount of the settlements later. The investor was guaranteed a minimum of 20 percent investment returns in as little as three months.
Swindle pitch
Unlicensed general counsel David Boden was present for at least one of the swindles, and negotiated the final papers with the investors' lawyers. Rothstein greets and informs the investor his firm was the preeminent sexual harassment law firm in the country. He says he'd figured out a basic formula which was that someone with $10 million net worth was usually willing to pay $2 million in cash to pay off their mistress. The key was confidentiality. Rothstein tells the investor that he would meet potential defendants in his office and would question them about affairs they had with an employee. The defendants would deny it. He pointed to artwork, and said there was a television screen behind it. He tells the investor he turned on a video of the guy having sex with his mistress, and told his client "We can either settle this now, or I can depose your wife, your mistress, you and your son about it." Since defendants" often couldn't or wouldn't pay the entire settlement up-front, Rothstein tells the investor that his first harassment case many years ago, involved a $3.5 million settlement and a million-dollar legal fee, so Rothstein assigned the settlement to a good friend and the plaintiff settles for $3 million without a trial. The "good friend" stood to be paid $3.5 million once the defendant paid up, a half-million dollar profit.
"In 20 years, I have never seen a defendant sue on breach of settlement," Rothstein told them. "The whole idea is that it's secret. Why would they sue?"
Although it did not appear completely legitimate, and it might have appeared that the plaintiffs were short-changed, it makes sense to the potential investor. The idea seems solid. The investor thinks that with enough of these cases at Rothstein's law firm, he could make huge sums of money.
Rothstein then discusses other larger cases: Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States...
, involving $1.4 billion with plaintiff representation by Gary Farmer, a firm attorney who negotiated the settlement and who brought the case with him when he arrived at the firm. Several inside whistleblowers went to the fed with unlawful practices regarding the marketing and sales of an anti-psychotic medication called Zyprexa. It was one of the largest qui tam
Qui tam
In common law, a writ of qui tam is a writ whereby a private individual who assists a prosecution can receive all or part of any penalty imposed...
cases in history.
He tells the investor about a potential (allegedly fabricated) case where investors would buy whistle-blower million dollar settlements with a sixty percent short term investor profit. The arrangement would be completely secret; the investor would never know the name of the company or the whistle-blower. The settlement money would be deposited into a trust account at TD Bank, accessible only to the investor at the appropriate time. David Boden follows up with all questions and negotiates the contract.
Court-appointed receiver
On November 2, 2009, Broward Chief Judge Vic Tobin sent an e-mail at 6:45 a.m. to judges about the Rothstein case:
"I learned of some very distressing news yesterday. Whoever draws the case try to set the motion today because of the amount of clients and money involved. Also, if you have a case with the firm, please be patient. I don't know if the lawyers will come or not and if they do come, there is no money at this point to go forward with the case or pay firm employees."
On November 3, 2009, retired Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Herbert Stettin was appointed the firm's receiver, responsible for approving the firm's day-to-day financial decisions. Firm president and 50% owner of the firm, Stuart Rosenfeldt, "deposited two-thirds of my life savings in my firm's operating account" to prop up finances in the short-term.
Marc Nurik is representing Rothstein, and has stepped down as a lawyer from the firm. The prosecutors are Lawrence D. LaVecchio, Paul F. Schwartz and Jeffrey N. Kaplan. They have decades of experience investigating public corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
, white-collar
White-collar crime
Within the field of criminology, white-collar crime has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" . Sutherland was a proponent of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was...
fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
and organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
. They are preparing a massive fraud case against Rothstein, zeroing in on his settlement investments, and also allegations of theft from his law firm and client trust accounts.
Victims
"...I consider my political mentors – Bill Scherer, John Collins, Jim Blosser.." Scott Rothstein in a 2009 interview.
On November 25, 2009, Attorney William Scherer filed a 289-page Amended Complaint seeking $100,000,000 in civil damages on behalf of his clients, and naming : Toronto Dominion Bank and its associates, Frank Spinosa, Jennifer Kerstetter, and Rosanne Karetsky, Irene Stay, Banyon Income Fund, L.P., Banyon USVI, LLC, George G. Levin, Michael Szafranski, Onyx Options Consultants Corporation, Berenfeld Spritzer Shechter Sheer, LLP., as well as Rothstein and his associates, David Boden, Debra Villegas, Andrew Barnett, and Frank J. Preve, as defendants/co-conspirators
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
.
The Amended Complaint lists people and businesses to whom Rothstein allegedly wired money while he was en route to or inside of Morocco: Rothstein wired $16 million to his tour guide from Boca Raton, Florida, "Ahnick Kahlid". Kahlid transferred the money to Rothstein's new Moroccan bank account opened upon his arrival with a passport as identification at Banque Populaire in Casablanca;
The recipients allegedly are members of the "Israeli Mob"; New York Investors; Florida Investors; Real Estate Investors; and Levin Feeders.
Scherer has said that his clients and all other investors who weren't complicit in the crime will have their money returned. Due to the extreme negligence
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
, TD Bank is liable. "My goal is to get all the money back for the investors from the bank," Scherer said.
On January 27, 2010 Scherer filed an affidavit alleging that Michael Szafranski was complicit in Rothstein's fraud, receiving almost $6.5 million in "ill-gotten" gains directly from Rothstein.
Shimon Levy and Ovi Levy
Shimon Levy allegedly has had deep ties to Israeli Organized crimeIsraeli mafia
The Israeli mafia is the general term for organized crime groups operating in Israel and also internationally. Allegedly there are 16 crime families operating in Israel, five major groups active on the national-level, and 11 smaller organizations...
and spent a year in an Israeli prison for hiding a mob figure suspected of two "grisly murders". In 1997, his partner at the Sea Club Resort on Fort Lauderdale beach, Zvika Yuz, was a victim of a murder which remains unsolved. His son, Ovi contacted the Plantation Police Department and began receiving protection during the time Rothstein fled to Morocco.
Banyan Capital
Banyan Income Fund, a Fort Lauderdale-based hedge fund, invested hundreds of millions. It was run by Rothstein and involves Fort Lauderdale businessman George G. Levin, who reported Rothstein to the U.S. Attorney's Office for "suspicious activity." According to the lawsuit, Frank J. Preve is Chief Operating OfficerChief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
and kept an office inside Rothstein et al. He is a convicted bank fraud
Bank fraud
Bank fraud is the use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently representing to be a bank or financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offense...
and embezzlement
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
felon
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
. He pleaded guilty to bank embezzlement charges in 1985 and received ten years probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
and a $10,000 fine for falsifying loan documents in another fraudulent scheme. Banyon and other Rothstein investors' accounts were held at a Toronto-Dominion Bank branch in Fort Lauderdale.
A.J. Discala
Abraxas "A.J." Discala, the Hollywood player and former husband of The Sopranos' Jamie-Lynn SiglerJamie-Lynn Sigler
Jamie-Lynn Sigler is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Meadow Soprano on the HBO television series The Sopranos.-Early life:...
, reportedly raised a hedge fund that dumped $30 million into Rothstein's scheme, pitched to by George Levin's Banyon.
George G. Levin
Since 1983, George G. Levin and his wife, Gayla Sue have lived in Fort Lauderdale's Bay Colony on the Intracoastal WaterwayIntracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...
, in a 2-story, 11000 square feet (1,021.9 m²) home with 8 bathrooms and a large pool, valued at $2 million.
Levin has a pattern of filing complaints when his unsavory/fraudulent business ventures are exposed. According to federal court documents, from 1985–1996 Levin's former business GGL Industries, dba Classic Motor Carriages defrauded hundreds of customers, selling kit cars. The federal government filed criminal charges against the company and GGL pleaded guilty to mail fraud in 1999 and agreed to pay $2.5 million in restitution.
Stuart Rado had been a consumer activist who organized GGL's victims and helped spur the government action. Levin subsequently sued Rado for violating the Florida Trade Secrets Act. Rado was diagnosed with cancer during the lawsuit. It was a classic frivolous SLAPP suit ("Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation"). On September 19, 1997, the finding against Mr. Rado was that he pay plaintiff's attorneys' fees.
The federal motion states:
"GGL's fraudulent scheme necessarily included as an intricate part the silencing of its critics, among whom was Rado. It did this by using the courts to intimidate Rado into being silent and causing Rado to spend money he could not afford. It was GGL's intention (as one of GGL's attorneys said to Rado [in a 1994 deposition]) to make Rado's net worth go south. GGL and its attorneys forced Rado to incur the expenses of defending two lawsuits for over 4 years. Rado had to incur these expenses and live day-to-day with a barrage of pleadings, depositions and other legal maneuvers by GGL. He had to endure this even though he did nothing legally wrong, and even though GGL was in fact at the same time continuing to perpetrate its nationwide fraud. Rado was being put through this because Rado dared to contact some of GGL's victims and tell them that if they were injured by GGL they should contact the Florida Attorney General for help. What is even more despicable is that GGL knew that Rado was dying of cancer but continued to pursue him with motions and notices of trial and other pleadings, one such notice of hearing being served within days of brain surgery."
Although a convicted felon, GGL hounded Rado's estate for the payment of $80,000 in attorney's fees.
The state of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
filed suit against the company alleging deceptive business practices and civil theft. A special assistant attorney general, Herbert Stettin lead the investigation. Stettin is now the trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
overseeing the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler bankruptcy case.
Levin continues to sell kit cars under a different company name, StreetBeasts.
According to a Florida District Court of Appeals case published in 2002, Levin acquired property free and clear for less than the cost of the first mortgage, through a fraudulent transfer
Partners' income strategy and Rothstein's returns
The allegations are: George Levin was the general partner (“GP”) who solicited each limited partner (“LP”)to contribute at least $1 million. Initially, each LP contributed $250,000, subject to periodic capital calls up to the amount of their commitments. They were promised 12% annually (15 % for first $100 million), to be paid quarterly. The general partner had to maintain a balance of not less than 10% of all contributions after any quarterly distributions. The general partner also gave a “clawback” guaranty to all LP’s equal to their original contributions. LP’s could not request redemptions during an initial one-year “lock-up” period and were required to give 90 days’ notice for any withdrawals. Redemptions would be paid from the GP’s own capital account “to the extent available” with a 10% hold-back, but otherwise, only from the purchased lawsuits settlement stream.Banyon had paid Rothstein's firm at least $656 million, but the law firm anticipated $1.1 billion over a maximum 24-month period. It allegedly received and reinvested about $500 million. Levin expected to make 40% over 24 months but to only pay out 24%. Rothstein's law firm's IOLTA trust accounts established “for the plaintiff” in the purported litigation settlements were used to fund the phony settlement accounts, after the law firm had paid its overhead, keeping its insolvent operation afloat, which included “gifts” to partners and money given to politicians, charities, and pay for a massive advertising budget, as well as Rothstein's personal lifestyle, over three years, amounting to approximately a $500 million loss.
The interest on the funded IOLTA accounts went to the Florida Bar monthly, which was many millions, based on the Banyon contributions. In its prospectus, Banyon claimed to have a legal opinion that Banyon’s interest in the IOLTA trust accounts “perfected automatically on execution of the transfer documents” – that the lawsuit proceeds assignments created by general counsel, David Boden. The LP’s were warned that they could be taxed on the Partnership’s income and realized gains even if no distributions were made. As long as reinvestments were ongoing, the ponzi scheme was facilitated.
Losses
1. Venure capitalist Doug Von Allmen's companies' total loss, approximately $105.5 million, through the Banyon Income Fund include:- The Von Allmen Dynastry Trust, overseen by wife Linda Von Allmen: $7 million.
- D&L Partners, Von Allmen's Missouri company: $45 million.
- Kretschmar: $8 million
- Razorback Funding LLC, a Delaware company: $ 32 million
- D3 Capital Club LLC, Delaware company: $13.5 million
2. BFMC Investment LLC, owned by Barry Florescue: $2.4 million
3. Socialite art dealer Bonnie Barnett, mother of defendant, Andrew Barnett
4. The family of car dealers, Ed and Ted Morse.
5. Ballamor Capital Management, Radnor, PA: $30 million.
Others
- Investors from Morocco lost $85 million.
On November 19, 2009, Rothstein never appeared for a deposition, noticed in the bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
case by investors' attorney John Genovese at Genovese's law office.
Banyon and other Rothstein investors' accounts were held at a Toronto-Dominion Bank branch in Fort Lauderdale.
External links
- Video tour of Rothstein's law offices
- USA v. Scott Rothstein: Report Commencing Criminal Action, December 1, 2009
- Federal Charging Information, December 1, 2009 Case No. 09-60331
- Rothstein Plea Agreement, Case 0:09-cr-60331-JIC, filed January 27, 2010
- Disbarment on Consent, filed November 20, 2009
- Amended Civil Complaint filed November 25, 2009, Case No. 09-062943
- Attorney Scherer's Opposition to Motion to Disqualify Counsel for Plaintiffs, filed January 28, 2010
- Amended Complaint for Dissolution and For Emergency Transfer of Corporate Powers to Stuart A. Rosenfeldt, Case No. 09-059301
- Judge's Order Granting Compelling of Bank Records, Case No. 09-059301
- Database of Scott W. Rothstein's Political Contributions
- Database of Scott W. Rothstein's Corporate Interests
- Database of Scott W. Rothstein's registered vehicles
- Database of Scott W. Rothstein's Real Estate Transactions