What is it nowadays with notable lawyers and their Ponzi schemes?
Two well-known Fort Lauderdale, Florida attorneys have been indicted in a nearly $1 billion Ponzi scheme known as Mutual Benefits. Michael McNerney and Anthony Livoti Jr. are well-respected advocates and have been fixtures in the legal community for decades.
McNerney served as chairman of the University of Florida Law Center Board of Trustees and the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce’s downtown council, among many trusted positions.
Livoti was a well-known litigator in Broward County courtrooms who served on the boards of directors of such causes as the Art for AIDS Auction, and was a nominee for a Florida Bar pro bono award.
“I am in suspended disbelief over the allegations,” said attorney Stuart Grossman of Miami’s Grossman Roth, who doesn’t understand what “suspended disbelief” means. He worked with McNerney.
Mutual Benefits dealt in viaticals, buying life insurance policies from the terminally ill, elderly and people with AIDS. It made money if the policyholder died ahead of actuarial schedules or on time.
But scientific advances prolonged the lives of many HIV-positive people. Soon enough, the company was paying premiums with money from new investors to keep the venture afloat.
McNerney and Livoti are charged with money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy. But both face trial with strong supporters.
Probably the same kind of people who fall for Ponzi schemes.