Scott Rothstein Says Other Law Firms Aided $1.2B Fraud by Turning Blind Eye to His Lies
Convicted swindler Scott Rothstein has emerged from the federal witness protection program and is being deposed by 30 attorneys in federal court in Miami, in a high-security closed-door bankruptcy proceeding that began yesterday and is expected to take about two weeks.
The 49-year-old disbarred Florida lawyer is naming names, says attorney William Scherer, who represents plaintiffs in litigation against Rothstein, to the Sun-Sentinel. And Rothstein has identified three law firms that, he says, aided his fraud of $1.2 billion or more by going along with his lies.
“There is some astounding stuff we are hearing,” Scherer told the Associated Press midway through the day yesterday. “The illegalities that went on there are bigger than what I knew. It’s pretty amazing to me.”
Scherer apparently did not provide any of the names Rothstein is naming to the AP, the Sun-Sentinel or the Miami Herald, which also has a story about the deposition.
A law firm representing some investors in Rothstein’s Ponzi scheme is to appear in federal court in Fort Lauderdale this afternoon, seeking a ruling providing for quick release of the Rothstein deposition transcripts to the media, reports another Associated Press story.
Rothstein, who is serving a 50-year prison term in a secret location, hopes to reduce it by cooperating in the ongoing federal prosecution and bankruptcy of his former law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler.
However, “It’s obvious to me there are people he’s going after and there are others he’s trying to protect,” criminal defense attorney Sam Rabin told the Herald. He represents a bank official who had dealings with Rothstein and is now under criminal investigation.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Now-Disbarred Lawyer Who Helped Top Partner Scott Rothstein Defraud Client of $57M Gets 2 Years”
ABAJournal.com: “Former Gen’l Counsel David Boden is Target of $37.8M Rothstein Law Firm Clawback Suit”
ABAJournal.com: “2 More Law Firm Workers Face Charges Related to Ex-Attorney Scott Rothstein’s $1.2B Ponzi Scheme”
