Disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein will plead guilty to running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scam in a Fort Lauderdale , Florida federal court today. Rothstein was charged in December with five counts of racketeering, fraud and money laundering. He faces up to 100 years in prison. He may only receive a 30 year sentence because he returned to the United States after fleeing abroad and cooperated with authorities.
Rothstein cofounded Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler in 2002. He made hundreds of millions of dollars selling fake employment discrimination and other civil settlements to wealthy investors. Rothstein looted 40 investor and client trusts at TD Bank and was given almost uninhibited access to their accounts. Rothstein kept his con afloat by paying off old investors with money from new ones, until one investor reported his growing suspicions.
Investigators are scrutinizing others involved with Rothstein’s operations at this time.
