For our original article on the story, click here. Scott Rothstein, founding partner of the Florida firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, remains incommunicado after taking off last week. He is believed to be in Morocco, and his attorney has said he would return today. The firm has hired a former US attorney to investigate allegations that Rothstein did something improper with an investment vehicle, and has asked the Florida court to dissolve the firm, putting its assets in the hands of a receiver.
Now we have more details on the alleged misconduct of Rothstein. Rothstein is reported to have set up a side business selling shares in settlements. Investors would buy out structured settlements from clients at a discount and in turn receive payments as the structured settlements resolved over time. The problem is that Rothstein may have been selling shares in fictitious settlements and is alleged to have disappeared with anywhere from $200 to $300 million.
Rothstein has been a major contributor to Republican politics in Florida. Ellyn Bogdanoff, a member of the state legislature who was the biggest benefactor of Rothstein’s donations, said today that she would be returning any political donations from Rothstein.
The firm’s website, rra-law.com is currently blank, and the pages linking to Rothstein are now inactive.
UPDATE:
Rothstein is back in Miami and police have surrounded his firm.
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This is the law firm that continuously harassed my 80 year old father and my 78 yr old mom (suffering from a brain tumor), with threats b/c they QuitClaim their mobile home in 2004 due to my mother’s open heart surgery and now the bank wants its deficiency money from the auction- 5 years later. Although I contacted the attorney several times to explain that their harassment was causing my dad to suffer from hypertension, they disregarded my concern and issued a summons last week. Their tactics are questionable. They are going after someone who lives on SSA and resides in a senior citizen home. Pretty pathetic.