JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

Another Madoff in South Florida? (Miami Herald, New Times)

By Ami Eden · November 5, 2009

Federal agents raided the law offices of Scott Rothstein, a South Florida attorney-political donor-philanthropist:

Dozens of federal agents on Wednesday night raided the Fort Lauderdale law offices of attorney Scott Rothstein, a swaggering lawyer under investigation for allegedly masterminding an investment scam that could reach hundreds of millions of dollars. ...

Rothstein, 47, has been accused by his investors and law partners of wiping them out. He is cooperating with federal investigators and identifying others who may be involved in the alleged Ponzi scheme, sources familiar with the probe said Wednesday.

People in Broward County legal circles have wondered how Rothstein -- a man-about-town who lived large and donated millions to charities and politicians -- could have pulled off the alleged scheme without colleagues at the law firm knowing about it.

Investigators are looking into allegations that Rothstein bilked investors by selling them falsified lawsuit settlements, and that he stole from client trust funds and operating accounts at his 70-attorney law firm, the sources said.

Lisa Rab at New Times plays the Madoff card:

​South Florida's Jewish community just can't catch a break. First Bernie Madoff, now an alleged Ponzi scheme by Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein -- what gives?

Madoff lured Jewish friends at the Palm Beach Country Club to be investors in his Ponzi scheme, and when his fraud collapsed, Jewish charities lost hundreds of millions of dollars. It's not yet clear how Rothstein's scandal will impact Jewish investors -- although Yeshiva World News is buzzing with rumors that the Orthodox community in Brooklyn may have lost millions.

One thing is obvious: Rothstein's imprint on the Fort Lauderdale Jewish community is indelible and very visible. The chabad center on Broward Boulevard bears his name -- the Rothstein Family Downtown Jewish Center Chabad.