Former Florida attorney who orchestrated a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme through his Fort Lauderdale law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler. The scheme, which ran from roughly 2005 to 2009, involved selling fictitious legal settlements to investors. Epstein sued Rothstein, alleging that Rothstein had fabricated so-called Epstein cases as part of his fraud, using Epstein's name to attract investors.
EFTA documents confirm a decade-long legal battle between the two, including filings in the Southern District of Florida. Rothstein had cultivated extensive political connections in Florida, donating to both parties and developing relationships with law enforcement and elected officials, which allowed the scheme to operate undetected for years. He was arrested in December 2009 after briefly fleeing to Morocco, pleaded guilty, cooperated with federal prosecutors, and was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.
His case was extensively covered by Miami New Times, the Sun-Sentinel, and the Palm Beach Post. The intersection of the Rothstein fraud with Epstein-related litigation makes him a notable peripheral figure in the broader documentary record.