If you live in South Florida and are up on your luxury gossip, you know about the $1.2 billion dollar ponzi scheme orchestrated by disbarred Florida attorney Scott Rothstein.  Mr. Rothstein has received his sentence of 50 years, imposed by U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn.

While the sentence was below the 100 year maximum for the charges Rothstein faced, he had hoped to receive a more lenient 30 years for assisting investigators.  Rothstein turned 48 years old on June 10th. 

The $1.2 billion dollar ponzi scheme afforded Rothstein such a broad range of amenities and luxury items, which were auctioned off recently.  The luxury items auctioned off raked in a cool $5.8 million dollars, which was of course funneled back to the investors he had wronged.  As previously reported, Imagine Lifestyles attended the Rothstein auction, and Items included:

 

1.    87-foot Warren yacht- $2.5 million


2.    2008 Bugatti Veyron-$858,000


3.    2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom $240,000


4.    2009 Bentley Continental GTC-$179,000


5.    Lamborghini Murcielago LP670SV $382,000


6.    67’ Corvette Stingray $103,000


7.    2006 Ferrari F430 Spider $170,000


8.    Mercedes McLaren $301,000


9.    2008 Ferrari F430 Spider $199,000
 

The conviction included five felonies, including racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud.  According to Judge Cohn,

"These actions constitute the most egregious wrongs a licensed attorney can commit.”
 

I wondered why Rothstein would be so flamboyant with regards to his lifestyle. This question was answered by reading about how Rothstein carefully crafted his image to create what Cohn called “an illusion of prosperity”.  Well, the illusion certainly worked, allowing Rothstein to pull in support from national figures ranging from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.  His office was adorned with photos of him with prominent sports stars celebrities, and it is rumored that off-duty police officers guarded his home.

For more Luxury News, or to read more about the Rothstein auction, follow links!

 

 

Post by Imagine Lifestyles Luxury Rentals