He's not the only fraudster, nor is he the only one convicted. What he did is defraud RICH people...a big no no.
Here's one a little closer to home:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/convicted-con-man-scott-rothstein-tells-all-01262012.html
"“All Ponzi schemes do the same thing: They explode at the end,” says convicted con man Scott Rothstein. While his $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme blew up in 2009, the debris is still falling to earth. In an attempt to get his 50-year sentence reduced, Rothstein is naming accomplices and detailing exactly how his scheme worked.
The now-disbarred South Florida lawyer is in protective custody while he cooperates with government investigators. And he’s testifying in civil lawsuits, brought by investors and the court-appointed trustee of his bankrupt law firm, to recover money from banks and hedge funds that allegedly aided the fraud. Over two weeks of depositions in December, Rothstein implicated lawyers, hedge funds managers, bankers, police officers, and his uncle. “His testimony fills in the blanks and ties everything together into a nice, neat package,” says attorney Charles H. Lichtman of Berger Singerman, who represents the trustee. Richard A. Sharpstein, a veteran criminal defense lawyer and former Florida state prosecutor, calls the case “the greatest show on earth. It has just everything—sex, drugs, rock ’n’ roll, bribery, greed at the highest levels.”
In a related trial where Rothstein didn’t testify, an investor group sued Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), saying it led Rothstein victims to believe their money was safe as he depleted accounts. On Jan. 18 a jury ordered the bank to pay the group $67 million. The bank is disappointed with the verdict, says a spokeswoman, Rebecca Acevedo, “and is considering all of its options.”
For four years, Rothstein persuaded investors—mostly hedge funds and wealthy families in New York, Florida, and Texas—to buy stakes in what he said were payouts from settlements of sexual-harassment and workplace discrimination lawsuits. The suits weren’t real: He’d fabricate the cases from scratch, using forged documents and elaborate ruses, such as having an accomplice pose as a bank officer. The scheme fell apart just after Halloween in 2009 when he couldn’t lure enough new investors to pay earlier ones. After fleeing to Morocco, Rothstein returned to the U.S. Two years ago he pleaded guilty to five federal counts of racketeering, money laundering, and wire fraud..."
Home
