From left: Scott Rothstein and 30 Isla Bahia Drive
While Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein’s Manhattan condominium netted the federal government $5.1 million, his Fort Lauderdale mansion yielded just $10, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Apparently unable to recoup more than the amount Rothstein owed on its mortgage, the federal government transferred the property to builder and mortgage-holder Rodney Sarkela for $10. [more]
From left: One Beacon Court, Scott Rothstein and a picture of his apartment's interior
Convicted Ponzi schemer and disgraced South Florida attorney Scott Rothstein’s two-bedroom condominium at One Beacon Court sold yesterday, according to the listing, although details on who picked up the pad were not immediately available.
Rothstein and his wife, Kim, purchased the unit at 151 East 58th Street between Third and Lexington avenues for $5.95 million in 2008. But in late 2009, federal prosecutors indicted the Fort Lauderdale lawyer for bilking investors of $1.2 billion. He ultimately pleaded guilty to fraud charges and is currently serving a 50-year prison term. [more]
TD Bank, one of the largest targets for litigation surrounding Scott Rothstein’s $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, got hit with some good news and some bad news, the South Florida Business Journal reported, as it tried to escape the lawsuits unscathed. On the one hand, a U.S. District Judge in Miami ruled that Texas-based Coquina Investments, which filed a $27 million lawsuit against the bank, cannot pursue Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization charges against TD Bank. [more]
German bank WestLB is threatening foreclosure on the Versace mansion in Miami Beach. WestLB holds a $25 million mortgage on the property, which has been involved in a series of legal skirmishes in large part due to Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein’s just-under-10 percent stake in the home. Last week, Paul Mitchell hair product founder Paul DeJoria offered to pay the U.S. government $100,000 to drop its claim on the home — although the government admitted the claim was worthless earlier this month. [SFBJ]
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Paul Mitchell hair product founder John Paul DeJoria, has expressed his intention to pay the government $100,000 to drop its claim on Scott Rothstein’s former 9.9 percent stake in the Versace mansion in South Beach, now a boutique hotel, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
Attorneys for the Casa Casuarina LLC, the company that owns the mansion, filed papers today in federal court, stating that DeJoria is prepared to close the deal.
The stake was seized from Rothstein in 2009, after his $1.2 billion ponzi scheme was exposed.
“At the end of the day, we wanted to let the court know about this fantastic offer,” an attorney for Casa Casuarina said. “The Rothstein stain has been cleaned up now. Mr. DeJoria has been interested in the property for quite some time.” [SFBJ]
Four homes formerly owned by Florida Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein will be auctioned off Oct. 4 by Broward County via an online auction site, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The waterfront Fort Lauderdale properties were seized by lender JPMorgan, which foreclosed on them and related entities for a combined $8.81 million. All the homes are on Castilla Isle and range in size from 2,600 square feet to 5,600 square feet. As previously reported, the disbarred attorney was sentenced to 50 years behind bars in June, after pleading guilty to perpetrating a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. Millions of dollars worth of personal property was revoked from Rothstein following his arrest, including 22 real estate properties, an 87-foot yacht and a fleet of pricey sports cars. [SFBJ]
The U.S. government filed papers Monday admitting its claim against the Versace mansion in Miami Beach is worthless, the South Florida Business Journal reported. Federal prosecutors have been pursuing a claim against the mansion because they say Ponzi-schemer Scott Rothstein invested in its former owner Casa Casuarina.
His restaurant operation, Bova, briefly ran Casa Casuarina in an effort to revive the finances at the troubled former Versace mansion. Owner Peter Loftin dismissed the Rothstein team after investigators accused the Broward lawyer of the scandal. [more]
Shamed South Florida attorney Scott Rothstein has listed his luxury Manhattan condominium unit at One Beacon Court for $5.4 million, according to Curbed. The Ponzi scheme fraudster pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering and fraud in his $1.2 billion scheme January 2010. The listing, at 151 East 58th Street, bears no trace of criminal proceedings with no mention of restitution, bankruptcy or federal approval, Curbed reported. The empty lot opposite Rothstein’s Fort Lauderdale mansion, meanwhile, recently fetched $1.8 million at auction. Rothstein’s second wife Kim Rothstein is also on the Beacon Court deed.They paid $5.9 million for the condo in 2008. The building was also home to another corrupt attorney, Marc Dreier, sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, whose condo was auctioned for $8.2 million in 2009. [Curbed]
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The 23-story Las Olas City Centre, which was the former home of Scott Rothstein’s law offices, is now for sale. The building is anchored by Bank of America, along with new tenant Guarantee Insurance, which expanded in the building recently. The building, which is nine years old, is currently at 90 percent occupancy. The sale is being overseen by majority owner Shorenstein Properties, which decided to sell the property after seeing successful sales in the area. Stiles is also a minority owner in the building. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler is marketing the sale. [SFBJ]
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Fort Lauderdale developer Glenn Wright has been arrested on charges of bilking $20,000 from a homeowners association and giving it to a rabbi who used it to make a down payment on a new building for the Downtown Jewish Center. Notorious Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein was also a member and donor of that congregation (his name adorned one of its buildings), and his law firm handled the closing. The rabbi, Schneur Kaplan, has not been accused of wrongdoing, as Wright apparently didn’t disclose the source of the funds at the time of the loan. Wright was a director of the board of the La Preserve homeowners association along with his wife, Patricia, and is said to have transferred the $20,000 to his company’s account before writing the check to Kaplan. Later, Kaplan said Patricia Wright called him to ask for the money to be repaid, and he obliged, though investigators said the money was never returned to the association. [Sun Sentinel]
