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Tag: José A. Gonzalez

  • ‘Before, During And After The Aforesaid Seizure’: Feds Charge Ponzi Schemer Scott Rothstein’s Wife, Her Attorney And Friend With Conspiracy To Obstruct Justice, Launder Money And Tamper With Witness In Alleged Plot To Conceal Assets

    “Those who assist others to conceal assets subject to forfeiture will be fully investigated and prosecuted. Together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we will continue to pursue forfeiture of all assets acquired with funds derived from Rothstein’s Ponzi scheme.” — José A. Gonzalez, special agent in charge of the IRS-Criminal Investigations Division, Sept. 6, 2012

    Saying criminal conduct occurred “before, during and after” the seizure of assets linked to Florida Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, federal prosecutors today announced that Rothstein’s wife, her attorney and friend have been charged in an alleged bid to conceal more than $1 million in jewelry.

    Two others also were charged.

    “The integrity of our system of justice is based on the truthfulness of every witness that participates in the process,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida. “When a witness lies under oath or conspires to obstruct justice, the integrity of our system of justice is undermined. The charges filed against these five individuals are proof of our office’s commitment to safeguard and protect the integrity of our legal system. Thanks to the continued dedication and commitment of our law enforcement partners and our prosecutors, these individuals will be brought to justice and the integrity in our system of justice restored.”

    Kimberly Wendell Rothstein, 38; Stacie Weisman, 49; and attorney Scott F. Saidel were charged with with conspiracy to commit money laundering, to obstruct justice and to tamper with a witness, prosecutors said.

    Among the allegations against Kim Rothstein, Weisman and Saidel is that they “sought to have Scott W. Rothstein testify falsely” in a civil proceeding after Scott Rothstein’s corrupt law firm imploded in 2009.

    Meanwhile, Eddy Marin, 50, and Patrick Daoud, 54, were indicted on charges of obstruction of justice and perjury, prosecutors said.

    The Sun Sentinel is reporting that Daoud is a jeweler in Fort Lauderdale, the city in which Scott Rothstein’s epic, $1.4 billion Ponzi fraud collapsed in 2009 and took the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm with it. Scott Rothstein was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.

    From a statement by prosecutors today (italics added):

    According to the charging documents, former Ft. Lauderdale attorney Scott W. Rothstein, who was the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, P.A. (RRA), used the funds obtained from the operation of a Ponzi scheme to purchase tens of millions of dollars of real estate, vehicles, vessels, business interests, luxury watches, jewelry and sports memorabilia for himself, his wife, Kimberly Rothstein, and others.

    As part of his plea agreement, Scott W. Rothstein agreed to forfeit to the government all assets acquired with funds derived through the aforesaid Ponzi scheme. On November 9, 2009, agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, went to the Rothstein residence, where Kimberly Rothstein assisted the agents in retrieving what was believed to be all of the available cash, jewelry and luxury watches which had previously been purchased by Scott W. Rothstein with proceeds derived from the Ponzi scheme.

    In fact, before, during and after the aforesaid seizure by federal agents on November 9, 2009, Kimberly Rothstein, Stacie Weisman, and Scott F. Saidel knowingly took action to conceal certain items of jewelry, valued in excess of one million dollars for the purpose of preventing the government from exercising its authority to take such property into its lawful custody and control. Thereafter, Kimberly Rothstein and Stacie Weisman sold and attempted to sell a portion of this jewelry to and through various persons, including Eddy Marin and Patrick Daoud.

    The charging documents further allege that, in connection with civil proceedings instituted by the Trustee in bankruptcy for RRA, all of the defendants took steps to obstruct justice by concealing the true location of certain items of jewelry in order to prevent its availability for use in those proceedings. It is further alleged that Marin and Daoud committed perjury during depositions in connection with those proceedings, and that Kimberly Rothstein, Stacie Weisman and Scott F. Saidel sought to have Scott W. Rothstein testify falsely in connection with those proceedings.

  • FEDS: Florida Attorney Conspired With Ponzi Schemer Scott Rothstein To Run Electioneering, Check-Kiting And Tax Scams And Prop Up Cash-Gushing Law Firm

    Fort Lauderdale lawyer Steven N. Lippman conspired with now-disbarred attorney, convicted racketeer and Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein to prop up the Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler (RRA) law firm through electioneering, check-kiting and tax scams, federal prosecutors charged yesterday.

    A 70-attorney firm that employed about 150 staff members, RRA collapsed in the wake of Rothstein’s epic Ponzi caper, which operated from the disgraced firm and was exposed in 2009. The Miami region’s top federal prosecutor yesterday described the scheme as “mind-boggling.”

    “The breadth, scope, and sheer complexity of Rothstein’s $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme is mind-boggling,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer. “Its success depended, in no small part, on the complicity of his colleagues and associates, like Steven Lippman. Lippman, an attorney, is now the ninth person to face criminal charges in connection with this scheme. As this investigation continues, I am sure that more will follow.”

    Lippman, 49, of Plantation, now has been charged criminally with conspiracy to violate the Federal Election Campaign Act, to defraud a financial institution and to defraud the United States.

    The Alleged Electioneering Scam

    It was the desire of Rothstein and others to “dramatically increase the stature and political power of RRA on the federal, state, and local level by making substantial political contributions to political candidates,” prosecutors said.

    In line with that, Rothstein enlisted Lippman and others to donate to the 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain “by agreeing that RRA unlawfully would provide them with the funds to make the political contributions,” prosecutors said.

    In one instance, prosecutors said, Lippman made a $67,800 contribution to McCain-Palin Victory 2008 — and received $77,500 back from RRA.

    Then- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was McCain’s Vice Presidential running mate on the Republican ticket in 2008. Neither she nor McCain has been accused of wrongdoing.

    But Rothstein, through RRA, was interested in elevating his profile and improving his influence with politicians and political campaigns, prosecutors said.

    The RRA check Lippman received “was fraudulently backdated to reflect that it was issued six days prior to the date of the actual contribution and the memo section of the check stated ‘bonus,” prosecutors said.

    Various donations to GOP causes were “bundled” through the RRA firm — and Rothstein emerged a delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention. Rothstein, in the midst of operating a colossal Ponzi caper, also was appointed to Florida’s 4th District Judicial Nominating Committee, which has sway “as to which persons should be nominated to be state appellate judges,” prosecutors charged.

    The Alleged Check-Kiting Scam

    With the RRA facing financial pressures in 2006, prosecutors said, Rothstein enlisted Lippman into a check-kiting scheme that involved an account at Lippman’s former law firm. The account at the former firm remained opened because the firm was still winding down its business when Lippman joined RRA in 2005.

    Over time, prosecutors charged, Lippman issued checks from the former firm totaling more than $10.3 million. Those checks — “many” of which were written with insufficient funds in the account — were deposited into RRA accounts.

    Rothstein and Lippman played the “float” on the checks to prop up the RRA firm and to “unlawfully obtain beneficial financing for RRA” by making it appear as though RRA had higher bank balances.

    As was the case with the political donations, Lippman came out ahead by playing ball with Rothstein in the check-kiting scheme, according to the charging document. Although checks from the former Lippman firm routed through RRA totaled more then $10.3 million, Lippman deposited checks from RRA accounts totaling more than $10.6 million into the account of the former firm.

    The Alleged Tax Scam

    Lippman, prosecutors said, “defrauded the IRS by failing to report as income certain expense reimbursements and other reportable income he received from RRA.

    The tax scam, prosecutors said, featured an agreement between Rothstein and Lippman that “Lippman would be paid a base salary and be given an expense account for which he would be fraudulently reimbursed for personal expenditures disguised as deductible business expenses”

    Through the conspiracy, prosecutors charged, Lippman and RRA sought to “avoid paying additional federal income and employment taxes.”

    “In addition,” prosecutors charged, “Lippman was paid from both the operating account and the payroll account of RRA, but would only receive an IRS Form W-2 reflecting the moneys paid to him through the payroll account. Lippman would not report to the Internal Revenue Service the moneys paid to him by RRA for expenses.”

    “The charges against Steven Lippman show our resolve to unravel all the schemes in this complex financial fraud perpetrated by convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein and his co-conspirators,” said John V. Gillies, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami Office.

    The probe in ongoing, Gillies said.

    “It is disappointing that the number of people who chose wrong over right and participated with Rothstein in this massive fraud is at nine and rising,” he said.

    The investigative efforts of the IRS are being led by José A. Gonzalez, special agent in charge of the IRS-Criminal Investigation Unit in Miami.