4 More Charged For Roles In Rothstein's $1.2B Ponzi Scheme
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) – Two people who worked with convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein turned themselves in to face criminal charges Friday morning. Two others are also facing federal charges for their alleged roles in the $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme operated by Rothstein.
Prosecutors said Friday all four are charged with wire fraud conspiracy. They include one attorney in a now-defunct Fort Lauderdale law firm, two of the firm's information technology workers and a fourth man, Stephen Caputi, who posed as a banker. Caputi, who turned himself in Friday, allegedly showed phony bank statements to convince potential investors that Rothstein was offering a sound deal.
In another case, investigators say he acted as a plaintiff who was due a $10-million settlement over time. Investors thought they were buying into that settlement, paying Caputi a fraction of it up front and they would get the rest later.
Helping in the whole scam, prosecutors say, was William Corte. He worked in the IT department of Rothstein's now-defunct law firm. Investigators say Corte and a second IT employee, Curtis Renie, made a bogus bank web site and made it look like Rothstein was well-funded. On one occasion, investigators say, the fake bank account stated he had more than a billion dollars in the bank. The false account balances were shown to investors to induce them to invest into the fraudulent investment scheme.
"The instruction came from Mr. Rothstein and it was basically can somebody duplicate the website and if nobody in house could do it than he was going to seek an outside IT guy to do it," explained attorney Alvin Entin. "Later on, he was asked to make some adjustments to the Rothstein trust account numbers that were also on that website and he made those adjustments."
Attorney Jeff Sonn represents some of the investors in a civil suit. He says even though these two may not have cooked up this scheme, their role was signifcant. "While these players might be bit players, they're probably important players in getting the confidence of investors in this massive rip off.
Caputi and Corte made their initial appearances in federal court Friday.
The other men involved, Curtis Renie and Howard Kusnick, are expected to appear in federal court next week.
Kusnick was an attorney at Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler. Investigators allege Kusnick schemed to defraud two clients of the law firm by writing a letter purporting to settle pending litigation in the clients' favor. In fact, however, the litigation and settlement never existed. Rather, the purpose of the letter was to lull the clients into believing that the law firm was pursuing litigation on their behalf when, in fact, the clients' funds had been used to pay off earlier investors and to further the investment fraud scheme.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, "The house of cards supporting Scott Rothstein's elaborate Ponzi scheme continues to crumble. As today's charges confirm, we will follow all leads and continue to bring to justice those who helped Rothstein execute this billion dollar fraud and any other crimes that may have been committed through RAA. The investigation continues."
The scam involving investments in phony legal settlements was run by disbarred lawyer Scott Rothstein. He's now serving a 50-year prison sentence after pleading guilty last year. Authorities have been selling off Rothstein's homes, boats, flashy cars and other assets to compensate wronged investors.
Previously charged was Rothstein's former top assistant Debra Villegas. She is serving a 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to a money-laundering conspiracy charge.
