Category Archives: Ponzi Scheme

Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein court documents detail undercover work for feds

Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein had drinks on the town at the request of federal investigators to hide that he was working for them after his arrest, according to court documents unsealed Thursday.

Cooperation could have gotten Rothstein a break on his 50-year prison sentence, but prosecutors said earlier this week he had lied to them and doesn’t deserve a reduction.

Rothstein pleaded guilty to several federal charges after his Ponzi scheme imploded during the Halloween weekend in October 2009. The now-disbarred lawyer was caught operating a $1.4 billion fraud at his Fort Lauderdale law firm offices.

On Jan. 20, 2010, Rothstein agreed to testify for the prosecution and go undercover if requested by investigators, according to the document. He’d voluntarily returned to Florida from Morocco.

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Sheldon Silver’s Ponzi-Schemer Son-In-Law Sentenced To Two Years In Prison

A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced the son-in-law of crooked former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to two years in federal prison for bilking investors out of nearly $6 million through a Ponzi scheme. Marcello Trebitsch, 37, ran the sham investment company Allese Capital with his wife, Silver’s daughter Michelle, the company’s accountant, according to prosecutors. She has not been charged.

From 2007 to 2014, Marcello Trebitsch took in more than $7.2 million in investors’ money, promising to sink it into a variety of investment arrangements. Instead, in each case, prosecutors said he and his wife directed much of it to their own accounts and spent it while sending out statements showing substantial profits. What money Marcello did invest he suffered net losses on, and when clients asked to pull money out, he paid them partially, if at all, out of the commitments of later clients. In all, he screwed four clients out of $5.9 million, according to prosecutors.

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TD Bank to pay $20M to settle lawsuit connected to Dutch Ponzi scheme

TD Bank will pay $20 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing it of aiding a Ponzi scheme that allegedly bilked over 1,000 European investors of more than $223 million, Reuters reported, citing the plaintiff’s lawyer in the case.

The preliminary settlement, which is subject to court approval, resolves claims that TD Bank, the U.S. banking arm of Toronto-based TD Bank Group (NYSE: TD), failed to properly monitor trust accounts that held investors’ money and ignored its duty to investigate suspicious activities under U.S. anti-money laundering rules.

In a brief statement confirming the settlement, TD only said, “We are pleased that this matter is close to a resolution.”

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