Embattled Attorney Returns To Broward (Rothstein)

[maddezmom]

Source: CBS

MIAMI (CBS4) ― Click to enlarge1 of 1
A Broward County judge has placed the embattled law firm founded by Scott Rothstein into the receivership of Herbert Stettin, in a hearing that occurred just hours after Rothstein returned from Morocco, where some feared he had escaped.

Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld is handling the case after the partners at the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm decided to dissolve the firm, citing there are millions in trust money they could not account for.

A source confirmed to CBS4 News that Rothstein was expected to meet with federal law enforcement officials on Tuesday after he returned to South Florida. No charges were filed against him as of late Tuesday night.

Earlier Tuesday the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency confirmed to CBS4 News that Rothstein, founder of the Fort Lauderdale based law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, had returned to Fort Lauderdale.


Read more: http://cbs4.com/local/Prominent.Fla.lawyer.2.1288929.html

[maddezmom]

1. FBI, IRS search Rothstein's law firm

FBI, IRS search Rothstein's law firm
Investors say lawyer ran Ponzi scheme that runs into hundreds of millions of dollars

November 4, 2009
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Dozens of FBI and IRS agents seized documents and computer records Wednesday night from Scott Rothstein's law firm, a day after the Fort Lauderdale attorney's dramatic return from Morocco and his lengthy meeting with federal prosecutors.



Federal agents are investigating what investors describe as a Ponzi scheme running into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, Rothstein was staying out of the public eye as agents combed through the downtown Fort Lauderdale firm he founded seven years ago.



"I'm sitting here hiding with my lawyer," Rothstein said Wednesday afternoon, when reached on his cell phone by the Sun Sentinel. He said he didn't have time to talk and subsequent calls went unanswered.



Kendall Coffey, the former U.S. attorney representing the Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler law firm, said Rothstein's attorney, Marc Nurik, had informed him that Rothstein planned to accept responsibility for the missing money and "face the music." Nurik could not be reached for comment.

more:http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-rothstein-developments-20091105,0,6646936.story

[TexasObserver]

2. "Ponzi scheme that runs into hundreds of millions"

Before Madoff, this would have been much bigger news.

It's amazing the number of people who have made a decent nest egg by 30-40 years of hard, thoughtful work, and then they turn it over to some smooth talking lawyer, broker, accountant, banker, or straight up con man.

It's shocking how many people fall into such a trap. It's almost always because the person doesn't like the safer returns that the traditional and economically cautious advise, so they go to someone that some friend of theirs knows who offers guaranteed returns that are better than the 5-8% they are typically shown in by legitimate advisers. So, they pull it all out, give it to one guy, and smile as they cash their checks showing a return of 10-12%. Of course, it's their own money they're getting paid with, and eventually it will run out and they'll be left like Madoff's investors.

We have much regulation of securities, at least on the books, but the reality is these guys operate in plain sight but are never caught until the thing caves in.

[Scurrilous]

3. Scott Rothstein allegedly ran covert investment scheme

Scott Rothstein promised investors gigantic returns built on legal settlements in sex-discrimination and whistle-blower cases, according to documents.

<snip>

"For years, Broward County's socially and politically connected marveled at the astonishing success of Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein and wondered: How does he do it?

Answers may have begun to emerge Monday, even as the law firm Rothstein built and the image he cultivated as an altruistic philanthropist crumbled.

According to a lawsuit filed against him by his firm and its co-founding partner, Rothstein was running a covert investment scheme on the side, and may have walked away with "substantial sums" put up by investors.

The scope of the investment business is not known, but the Fort Lauderdale securities litigation firm Sonn & Erez said Monday it was investigating claims that Rothstein ``may be involved in a $100 million investment that imploded.''

Rothstein attracted investors by promising huge returns and selling settlements he said he had reached in sex-discrimination and whistle-blower cases, according to documents he gave to prospective clients.

But according to the lawsuit filed against him, at least some of those settlements did not exist, and investors say money they invested with Rothstein is now missing."

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