Scott rothstein dan marino biography

A federal judge has thrown out lawsuits filed against two well-known South Florida charities by attorneys tasked with recouping money for Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein’s investors.

The Dan Marino Foundation and HomeSafe are not obligated to pay back any of the donations they received from Rothstein or his law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, ruled U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Raymond B. Ray. Attorneys representing the now-defunct law firm’s bankruptcy trustee had been seeking $259,000 from the Dan Marino Foundation and another $60,000 from HomeSafe in what are known as “clawback” lawsuits.

Ray’s rulings are the first to set aside any of the more than 130 “clawback” lawsuits brought by bankruptcy trustee Herbert Stettin’s legal team. Stettin’s attorneys already have recovered more than $100 million for investors in Rothstein’s $1.4 billion Ponzi scheme, the largest investment fraud in South Florida history.

The judge found the Dan Marino Foundation and HomeSafe didn’t know Rothstein was operating a Ponzi scheme and provided genuine goods and services.

Rothstein purchased items at charity auctions put on by the Dan Marino Foundation and gave the group another $25,000 for the famed Miami Dolphins quarterback to speak at an event sponsored by the law firm. The Dan Marino Foundation helps children and young adults with autism and special needs.

In HomeSafe’s case, Rothstein sucessfully bid on two paintings at a charity auction and those paintings have since been recovered. HomeSafe is dedicated to protecting victims of child abuse and domestic violence.

An attorney who represented both charities said the lawsuits never should have been filed. Ray dismissed the HomeSafe case on Oct. 18 and the Dan Marino Foundation case on Oct. 30.

“My clients were vindicated by the rulings and we were in the clear legally and factually under the bankruptcy code,” said Steven Fender, one of the non-pro

If there was one thing Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein craved, it was attention. And how better to get it than to whip out his checkbook?

Like at Gov. Charlie Crist's 52nd birthday party/GOP fundraiser last year, when, instead of buying a $1,000 candle, Rothstein bought an entire chocolate cake covered with 52 candles. His donation: $52,000.

Like at an Eagles concert in January, when band leader Don Henley stood on stage and dedicated at Rothstein's request Life in the Fast Lane to the lawyer and his wife, Kimberly,for their first anniversary. His donation: $100,000, to a Henley environmental cause.

Like the TV ads showing Rothstein with star athletes Dan Marino and Alonzo Mourning, whose children's charities benefited from his philanthropic largesse.

"Scott wanted attention - he wanted to be the guy," said Roger Stone, a longtime Republican political operative who shared Rothstein's office suite. "Giving big checks and getting his butt kissed in public was the payoff."

But now, facing accusations of massive financial fraud, Rothstein is attracting attention of a different kind - and his life in the fast lane seems to have crashed spectacularly.

The FBI and the IRS are sifting through his computer files, and his Fort Lauderdale law firm is in shambles.

Over six years, Rothstein's net worth soared from at least $160,000 to tens of millions of dollars - including opulent waterfront homes, a fleet of foreign sports cars, flashy watches, a stake in the former Versace mansion in South Beach and a restaurant group, court records show.

Rothstein, 47, personally spent more than $14 million on a half-dozen properties in Broward County since June 2003, property records show. He also owned multimillion-dollar homes in Rhode Island and New York.

With the wealth and philanthropy came well-oiled connections in all the right places.

But the very people who trusted him - investors, law partners and clien

American lawyer

Scott W. Rothstein (born June 10, 1962) is an American disbarred lawyer, convicted felon, and the former managing shareholder, chairman, and chief executive officer of the now-defunct Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adlerlaw firm. He funded an extravagant lifestyle with a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, one of the largest such in history.

On December 1, 2009, Rothstein turned himself in to authorities and was subsequently arrested on charges related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Although his arraignment plea was not guilty, Rothstein reversed his plea to guilty of five federal crimes on January 27, 2010. Rothstein was denied bond by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Rosenbaum, who ruled that due to his ability to forge documents, he was considered a flight risk. He was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.

Overview

On June 9, 2010, Rothstein received a 50-year prison sentence after a hearing in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, although federal prosecutors initially filed a motion notifying the court they would be seeking a sentence reduction for Rothstein.

His firm had 70 lawyers and 150 employees, with offices in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tallahassee, New York City and Caracas, Venezuela. The firm focused on labor and employment matters, civil rights, intellectual property, internet law, corporate espionage, personal injury, wrongful death, commercial litigation, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and governmental relations. His client list included Citicorp, J. C. Penney, Ed Morse Automotive Group, National Beverage, Silversea Cruise Lines, Supra Telecom, and Wells Fargo. Until he was permanently disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court on November 25, 2009, Rothstein was a member of the Florida Bar and admitted by the United States Supreme Court. He

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein, whose seemingly unlimited wealth bought palatial homes, exotic cars and mega-yachts, was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years in prison for operating a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme using faked legal settlements.

The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn was below the 100-year maximum Rothstein faced for five felony convictions, including racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud.

Rothstein, who turns 48 on Thursday, had hoped for a 30-year sentence because of his extensive cooperation with investigators – and prosecutors could later ask for up to one-third off his sentence because of continued assistance.

Cohn agreed that Rothstein deserved credit for cooperation but was particularly troubled that the former lawyer would use the judicial system for his scam, to the point of forging signatures of at least three federal judges on fake documents.

“These actions constitute the most egregious wrongs a licensed attorney can commit,” Cohn said, adding that Rothstein’s “opulent lifestyle” was designed to advance the scheme by projecting an illusion of success.

“It was all about image, wealth, power and influence,” the judge said.

The prison sentence, 10 years more than prosecutors recommended, caps a swift downfall for Rothstein, whose now-defunct law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler was once considered a rising force in South Florida legal circles.

His taste in fancy Italian sports cars, an 87-foot custom yacht, glittering watches and big cigars made him seem to be a larger-than-life character and a darling of politicians, celebrities and sports stars. In fact, Rothstein told the judge in a letter, it was all a facade to feed his own “ego and greed.”

“I did all I could to increase my power, to keep the myth alive, to feed the beast I had created, and to try to keep myself above the law,” Rothst