The wife of imprisoned Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein and two other people were charged Thursday with plotting to hide and sell more than $1 million worth of jewelry from the former Fort Lauderdale lawyer’s waterfront home before federal agents seized his assets three years ago.Kimberly W. Rothstein, her friend, Stacie Weisman, and the wife’s lawyer, Scott F. Saidel, were charged with money-laundering conspiracy, obstruction of justice and tampering with a witness in federal court.
Prosecutors said that by concealing the valuable jewelry, the three defendants prevented Internal Revenue Service agents from confiscating the property when they searched Rothstein’s home in November 2009. His wife and Weisman are accused of selling some of the jewelry to others, including Eddy Marin and jeweler Patrick Daoud, who were indicted on separate charges Thursday.
Among the jewelry items: a 12.08-carat diamong ring, according to federal prosecutors.
Kimberly Rothstein, Weisman and Saidel are also accused of seeking to have Scott Rothstein testify falsely during his deposition in a related civil bankruptcy proceeding involving his defunct law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt & Adler.
All five defendants are also accused of concealing the true location of certain items of jewelry during the bankruptcy proceeding to prevent the former law firm’s trustee from recovering them for victims of Rothstein’s $1.2 billion scheme. Marin and Daoud are separately accused of commiting perjury during depositions in the bankruptcy case.
“When a witness lies under oath or conspires to obstruct justice, the integrity of our system of justice is undermined,” U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said.
Rothstein is serving a 50-year sentence after pleading guilty to racketeering and other fraud charges involving the sale of purported legal settlements to investors from Florida to New York. Eight other people have been convicted on charges related to his scheme, among the largest in Florida history.
Kimberly Rothstein’s defense attorney, David Tucker, issuing a statement, saying while she claims she was not aware of her husband’s racketeering activities, “She takes full responsibility for her actions in regard to the charge filed today.”
Prosecutors said that by concealing the valuable jewelry, the three defendants prevented Internal Revenue Service agents from confiscating the property when they searched Rothstein’s home in November 2009. His wife and Weisman are accused of selling some of the jewelry to others, including Eddy Marin and jeweler Patrick Daoud, who were indicted on separate charges Thursday.
Among the jewelry items: a 12.08-carat diamong ring, according to federal prosecutors.
Kimberly Rothstein, Weisman and Saidel are also accused of seeking to have Scott Rothstein testify falsely during his deposition in a related civil bankruptcy proceeding involving his defunct law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt & Adler.
All five defendants are also accused of concealing the true location of certain items of jewelry during the bankruptcy proceeding to prevent the former law firm’s trustee from recovering them for victims of Rothstein’s $1.2 billion scheme. Marin and Daoud are separately accused of commiting perjury during depositions in the bankruptcy case.
“When a witness lies under oath or conspires to obstruct justice, the integrity of our system of justice is undermined,” U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said.
Rothstein is serving a 50-year sentence after pleading guilty to racketeering and other fraud charges involving the sale of purported legal settlements to investors from Florida to New York. Eight other people have been convicted on charges related to his scheme, among the largest in Florida history.
Kimberly Rothstein’s defense attorney, David Tucker, issuing a statement, saying while she claims she was not aware of her husband’s racketeering activities, “She takes full responsibility for her actions in regard to the charge filed today.”
Michael Hearns an Anti Money Laundering specialist with over 24 years of AML experience can also be found at www.launderingmoney.com and on twitter at : http://twitter.com/#!/LaunderingMoney http://moneylaunderingworld.blogspot.com
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