FLORIDA — AGAIN: Miami Attorney Awaiting Sentencing In Ponzi Scheme Charged With Stealing From Employee Benefit Plan

A Miami attorney awaiting sentencing in a Ponzi scheme case now has been accused of stealing from an employee benefit plan, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida said.

Lorn Leitman, 61, was charged with stealing from the South Florida Emergency Physicians P.A. Profit Sharing Plan. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a mail-fraud offense in the Ponzi case, and now faces up to another five years on the theft charge, prosecutors said.

The Ponzi scheme operated for 10 years, prosecutors said. The sentencing phase of the Ponzi case against Leitman was under way Monday when the new indictment on the theft charge was announced. The sentencing phase in the Ponzi case is scheduled to resume July 6.

Leitman was indicted on the theft charge after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

“This case reaffirms the Labor Department’s commitment to protect workers’ benefits by identifying criminal activity wherever and whenever it occurs,” said Isabel Colon, acting regional director of agency’s Employee Benefits Security Administration Atlanta Regional Office and the Miami District Office.

In addition to being an attorney, Leitman also is a CPA, prosecutors said. The Florida Bar previously sanctioned Leitman for misconduct in a case in which it was alleged members of the military were targeted in a loan scheme that charged usurious interest rates.

In 2007, the Florida Supreme Court ordered Leitman to attend Ethics School.