Miami’s Own Mini-Madoff

The Fall Of A Law Firm

November 3. 2009

Scott Rothstein

Scott Rothstein, the politically connected Miami attorney, who fled to Morocco, due to investors pressing him regarding their money, has returned to South Florida and was met by FBI agents at the airport.

Preliminary evidence indicates Mr. Rothstein has been running a $500,000,000 ponzi scheme out of the Sunshine State, leaving his law firm in the lurch.

The firm is down to its last $500,000 and may face difficulties making payroll, with a staff of 75 people.

Politically connected lawyer returns to face fraud questions

In Print: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 - A flashy Fort Lauderdale lawyer who investors say fleeced them for hundreds of millions of dollars flew back from Morocco on Tuesday to face federal prosecutors considering criminal charges, the Miami Herald reported.

While Scott Rothstein and his defense attorney, Marc Nurik, held the discussions, a Broward County judge appointed an independent receiver to examine the financial records of Rothstein's law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler.

Rothstein, 47, had left for Morocco on Friday as news of his alleged investment scam started leaking around Broward County. He came back facing an FBI investigation and the loss of his law firm. The once high-flying firm, formed in 2002, has only $500,000 left in its bank account, a lawyer said.

Rothstein, suspected of running a Ponzi scheme, apparently drained vast sums of money from the firm, his partners say.

Rothstein's investors had $500 million deposited in a Canadian bank on Oct. 23 and that money was gone seven days later, said William Scherer, an attorney representing investors who he says lost more than $70 million...

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