Turnaround, as accused Fla. Ponzi schemer set to cop a plea

A judge has set a Jan. 27 date for a disbarred South Florida lawyer to plead guilty to charges stemming from what authorities call a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. The date was set at a hearing Wednesday after Scott Rothstein's attorney announced he will plead guilty. Rothstein had initially pleaded not guilty to racketeering, fraud and conspiracy charges after his December arrest Rothstein is charged with orchestrating a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme using faked legal settlements. His attorney Marc Nurik said plea deal details are incomplete. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 100 years behind bars. Rothstein has been jailed without bail since his Dec. 1 arrest, which followed the swift collapse of his once high-flying Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm in Fort Lauderdale. The FBI and Internal Revenue Service have seized Rothstein's assets, including numerous luxury vehicles, homes and other properties, bank accounts and business interests. Prosecutors say Rothstein lured people to invest in phony legal settlements that promised big payoffs in a short time. Rothstein also offered investments in short-term business loans that offered huge financial returns, most of them also nonexistent. As with any Ponzi scheme, prosecutors say, Rothstein used money from new investors to pay off older ones, keeping a fat chunk for himself to buy luxuries such as a $1.7 million Bugatti Veyron sports car, several Ferraris, expensive jewelry and watches and two dozen homes and properties. Just as the scheme was unraveling in October, Rothstein took off in a private jet for Morocco after wiring $16 million to an account that he controlled there. He also carried with him some $500,000 in cash, according to court documents, but ultimately decided to return to South Florida before he was indicted. Rothstein was close to major national and state politicians, including Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain. Political parties and candidates have returned hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions linked to Rothstein and are investigating whether others in the law firm played a role in potential political donation violations. Prosecutors also have not ruled out charging others in the firm in the Ponzi scheme. If Rothstein were to agree to cooperate with investigators, it could lead to more indictments and reduce his potential time in prison.