George Levin Was Rothstein’s Whale

Fort Lauderdale attorney Bill Scherer is about as good a source on the money end of Scott Rothstein’s Ponzi scheme as you’re going to find right now. He’s representing about $100 million in investor losses, including those of the Doug Von Allmen family. Von Allmen and his family members invested in Rothstein’s…

Rothstein Feeder George Levin’s Ugly Past

If you feel at all sorry for Fort Lauderdale businessman George Levin for apparently losing a great deal of his money — or other people’s money — in Scott Rothstein’s Ponzi scheme, you can stop now. Levin was behind the Banyon Investors Fund, which drew other hedge funds and investors…

Scherer Files Suit Against Rothstein Et Al.

Just got back from a Bill Scherer press shindig outside the courthouse and will have vids later, but first I’m just going to ring off some highlights from the suit he just filed against Scott Rothstein. Here’s a link to the entire 147-page lawsuit. ​There’s some good information on Rothstein’s…

Rothstein Speaks as More Investors Come to Light

The Miami Herald found another investor in Scott Rothstein’s Ponzi scheme, and the story has a couple of interesting parts. First, Rothstein apparently answered his phone on Thursday. He told the Herald:   “I keep seeing names on the Internet who were alleged investors of me and I have no idea who they are…

Rothstein’s Castle (and Throne)

​This story is getting almost surreal. A blog reader who worked on the recent renovation of Scott Rothstein’s house on Isla Bahia Drive sent me photographs of the inside of the home taken during the job. That’s  Rothstein’s personal toilet, and yes, the lid is made of gold. After the jump is the “hers”…

Attorney Confirms Some Stolen Rothstein Money Went To Business Partner

Scott Rothstein’s breakout month was October. During that month, the Ponzi scheming lawyer raised $232 million in October only to wired it all out of TD Bank accounts into a dizzying maze of businesses, says Fort Lauderdale attorney William Scherer, who is representing clients claiming losses totaling about $100 million…

Rothstein’s Marathon Dance With the Feds

It’s time to set a lot of people straight on what is going on with Scott Rothstein (and get a comment cleaner up here). One of the main things you hear when you bring him up is people who just can’t believe he’s “walking free.” They point to the video…

Collateral Damage: More Folks Affected by Rothstein Rip-Off

In addition to the laid-off employees at the Versace mansion, the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm, and other former Scott Rothstein business, there are many others who are either looking for work or have lost sizable income due to the Ponzi blow-up. Three of them are in this post. Start…

Inside the Rothstein Swindle, Part III

A good source has been telling me for the past week that Scott Rothstein began wiring large sums of money out of the country during the weeks before he fled to Morocco. He told me that his sources at TD Bank put the figure at $200 million total — including…

Rothstein and Dreier: How Much Alike?

Some say there are a lot of similarities between fallen New York lawyer Marc Dreier and Scott Rothstein, but one that I learned is just flat-out weird. The two attorneys — both accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars — owned apartments in the same building in New York City at…

Inside the Rothstein Swindle, Part II

Once Scott Rothstein explained the concept of buying secret settlement deals (see Part I), he explained just how big these deals could be and how much money could be involved in them. To illustrate, he told his prospective investor about the giant Eli Lilly pharmaceutical case. The beauty of that was…

Inside the Rothstein Swindle, Part I

I got the story of exactly how a relatively recent Scott Rothstein swindle occurred, but I have to be a bit cautious about the way I tell it so as not to reveal the investor’s identity. The investment was made in the last eight months and it involved pooled money from…

Rothstein’s Spending Swagger Went All the Way to Temple

On Yom Kippur a couple of years ago, Downtown Jewish Center Chabad Rabbi Schneur Kaplan did something decidedly unorthodox. Also in attendance was Ovadia “Ovi” Levy, Rothstein’s friend and business partner in the Renato watch company (I’m also told that he, like Rothstein, drove a $1.5 million Bugatti Veyron). Sources have told me…

Protecting the Inner Sanctum

You can almost feel the walls closing in on Scott Rothstein. It’s clear from the string of emails Rothstein sent to Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler staff before his dramatic billion-dollar implosion that he became increasingly isolated from his lawyers — former judges, prosecutors, and specialists whom he routinely called his “kids” –…

Rothstein Emails Detail Villegas’ Role as Number Two at RRA

Following are two emails sent by Scott Rothstein to law firm staff concerning his chief operating officer and executive vice president, Debra Villegas. If you had any doubt that Villegas was the Ponzi schemer’s right-hand woman and most trusted person in the firm, these will quickly erase them. Keep in mind that…

A Peek Inside the Weird World of RRA

​ ​For your reading enjoyment, I was anonymously forwarded this strange email purportedly sent by Scott Rothstein to his staff at Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler on May 1, five months before his Ponzi scheme blew up. What’s funny is that it comes with a maniacal laugh, more than one reference to insanity, and he actually…

Ex-Judge Berger Sounds Off on Rothstein

Following is some of what is one of the best interviews so far during this whole Rothstein thing, snagged by Susan Spencer-Wendel at the Palm Beach Post. It’s from former Circuit Judge William Berger. He’s the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm partner in Palm Beach County who had legitimate cases representing two girls involved in billionaire…

Follow the (Political) Money

Low-hanging fruit for federal investigators in the Scott Rothstein case might just be the political money. The millions of dollars that Rothstein pumped into the political process was clearly a big part of the fraud. It created the image of Rothstein as the politically connected friend of Republicans like Charlie Crist, John McCain,…

Scott Rothstein Vs. Joel Steinger (UPDATED)

It’s like the Broward scandal sheet version of Godzilla meets Rodan. ​UPDATED: A source tells me there was a meeting of camps between monster Ponzi schemers Scott Rothstein and Joel Steinger. Steinger sends word to me that it never happened. But whether it did or not, I think it’s time to compare the two men, namely to determine which…

Sheriff Lamberti Takes Rothstein’s Pal Off Internal Affairs Post

In a sign that the Rothstein scandal may be heading his way, Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti informed the department today in an email that he has removed his right-hand man, Lt. David Benjamin, as head of the agency’s internal affairs department. It was Benjamin, you’ll remember, who personally escorted Scott Rothstein to his jet at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport when Rothstein left…