FBI says Florida fraud scheme could top $1 billion

[Scurrilous]

Source: Reuters

<snip>

"Federal agents investigating a prominent Florida lawyer suspected of running an elaborate Ponzi scheme said on Thursday the amount involved could exceed $1 billion, and they asked bilked investors to come forward.

At a news conference, investigators from the FBI and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made a public appeal for information from individuals who had invested in a so-called Structured Settlement Investment scheme offered by 47-year-old Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein.

Criminal charges have not yet been filed against Rothstein, who lived a luxury lifestyle and helped bankroll local politicians, campaign records show.

But a court document filed this week carried allegations that Rothstein masterminded a scheme in which he sold bogus or nonexistent legal settlements to unsuspecting investors since at least 2005. It said new investor money was used to pay previous investors in the classic Ponzi scheme model."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE5AB41C20091112

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Revealed: Pictures Of Gov. Crist's $50K Birthday Cake From Accused Fraudster

<snip>

"Two Florida newspapers have published pictures of the birthday cake for Charlie Crist sponsored to the tune of $52,000 by Fort Lauderdale super attorney Scott Rothstein.

Remember, Rothstein has been accused of orchestrating a gigantic fraud scheme out of his firm, but Gov. Crist claims that Rothstein is just another supporter, suggesting this week he hardly knows the man.

"Well, he had supported me like he did to many others. ... And that's about the extent of it," Crist said Wednesday. But many news reports and sources suggest, on the contrary, the two were close friends and Rothstein was a top moneyman for Crist, who used his relationship with Rothstein to reap benefits for the state GOP.

Enter the double-layer chocolate birthday cake.



The 2008 party to celebrate Crist's 52nd was at The Breakers in Palm Beach, the oldest hotel in Florida, and one of the poshest. Lobbyists and industry groups shelled out a sponsorship fee of $5,200-per-candle on the cake, the Miami Herald, which obtained the picture, reports.

But Rothstein wanted to show up those bit players -- companies like Disney and the private prison giant GEO Group -- so he paid $52,000 to sponsor the entire confection. Thus, the cake was bedecked with delicate white chocolate sheets reading, "Happy Birthday, Governor Charlie Crist. From Scott and Kimberly Rothstein."

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/revealed_pictures_of_gov_crists_50k_birthday_cake.php

[Adsos Letter]

1. What an ugly cake.

[glitch]

4. Horrible. I bet they designed it and the poor pastry chef had to produce it. nt

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Looks like a bunch of tombstones.

Reminds me of a cemetery in miniature.

[glitch]

13. A creepy post-apocalyptic cemetary at that. Ugh! nt

[orwell]

2. Call the Cake Boss...

...tell him that there's a cake emergency!

[BR_Parkway]

3. I wonder if I could sell off my birthday candles this year.....?

[pjt7]

5. Way to screw em out of the $$ Rothstein!

eom

[Name removed]

6. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AlphaCentauri]

7. I want a cake like that for my birthday

too bad all I'm going top get is 35 dollars Albertson's cake

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. Well, don't stop with that prominent lawyer.

You're on a roll,FBI. Don't stop now!

[sofa king]

10. Jeez. How 'bout a Cookiepuss on top of a pile of money?

[David Zephyr]

11. K&R.

[Blue_Tires]

12. selling candles on your birthday cake to lobbyist sponsors?

stay classy, Palm Beach...

damn...am i the only one surprised that is even legal?? i wonder what cash amounts were in his birthday cards??