South Florida Attorney Sentenced In Connection To Rothstein
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- A South Florida attorney is behind bars in connection to his work with convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein.
U.S. District judge sentenced Douglas Bates, 55, of Parkland, to 60 months in prison with two years of supervised release, and a $20,000 fine.
Bates pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to court documents, Bates was a partner in the Law Offices of Koppel and Bates located in Plantation.
While he worked in the firm, he assisted in defrauding certain clients of Rothestein's Fort Lauderdale firm by drafting false and fraudulent opinion letters claiming to represent an investment group which formed the basis for Rothstein's ponzi scheme, according to the documents.
The documents said Bates also assisted Rothstein by arranging to have representatives of an investment group falsely inform that numerous legal cases were referred to Bates' firm.