Ex-Attorney Pleads Guilty In $1.2B Ponzi Scam

Scott Rothstein, 47, pleads guilty to all five counts against him

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A disbarred attorney who courted politicians and star athletes and led a flamboyant lifestyle even by South Florida standards pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges that he ran a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.

Scott Rothstein, 47, pleaded guilty to all five counts against him, including wire fraud, money-laundering conspiracy and a racketeering charge commonly used to take down Mafia chieftains. The charges carry a maximum potential sentence of 100 years in federal prison. Sentencing is set for May 6.

The plea caps a downward spiral that began in late October, when court documents say Rothstein fled Florida on a chartered jet to Morocco carrying $500,000 in cash after wiring another $16 million to a Casablanca account he controlled. He returned to face charges and has been in federal custody since the FBI arrested him Dec. 1.

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