Kim Rothstein will go after pre-Ponzi assets, her lawyers says
Kim Rothstein unloads items from the Princess Kimberly yacht
before it is seized. (Photo by Joe Cavaretta).
Kim Rothstein, wife of Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, will seek half of whatever assets they owned before the illegal investment scam began, her lawyer Scott Saidel said.
"She does have a claim to anything pre-Ponzi,'' he said last week.
She came into the relationship in debt. She won't be in debt when the dust settles on this case, Saidel predicted. In fact, she'll likely have an amount that "to the common person'' would not be "an insignificant amount,'' he said.
Read more on the jump.
Kim Rothstein, in the gray suit, descends the stairs at the federal courthouse
in downtown Fort Lauderdale, with her friend Stacy Weissman, her criminal
defense lawyer Frank Rubino, and her bodyguard, Joe Alu.
"I imagine Kim will land on her feet,'' he said. "She'll get a job and she'll work and she'll get her life back in order.''
Saidel said his client, whom he also has considered a friend for a few years, through their mutual pal Stacie Weissman, was allowed to keep her wedding ring but had to give up most of the rest of her jewelry to the feds. No matter, he said.
"Kim is looking forward to being plain old Kim again. She was always concerned that the trappings were owning her.''
Did she really use the services recently of an eyelash-extension business that comes to your door? Not that Saidel knows of, he said, responding to a report from Rothstein's neighborhood.
"I'm unaware of it,'' he said of the mobile hair-extension service. "It sounds absurd to me.''
Who is paying Saidel? No one, right now. Ditto for Joe Alu, the bodyguard. Saidel wasn't sure if the public relations team that Kim Rothstein had in tow last week were being paid, either.
"She's got very, very limited resources,'' he said. The feds are allowing her to remain in the Rothstein home and pay some bills and the mortgage, because she helped "maximize'' the real estate Rothstein owns, collecting rents and putting the money in a trust account, Saidel said.
Kim Rothstein before her public speech at the courthouse where her husband pled guilty in the Ponzi scheme.
The Princess Kimberly yacht, just before the feds took it away.
Comments
Where'd all the funnny posts go aboput this laugher..
Posted by: NY JOEY | February 2, 2010 11:36 PM
Hopefully Kim and Scott will get life and never see the light of day. You need to follow the sister, Ronnie Leon, to find the rest of the money. She went from a modest home to a home valued over 700,000 in Weston (North Lakes) with Porsche's, BMW's and Cadilac SRC's all on stolen money from her brother Scott. Hopefully she will sell this stolen property and give it to the people that are owed money.
Posted by: BigCypress | February 3, 2010 1:53 PM
How hard is it really to trace the money? Cars, homes, businesses, political contributions, charitable contributions?
The charities have to give the money back but what about every other parasite that got money from Rothstein? The restaurants, the vodka, the jewelers,the marketing company, the clubs? What about the businesses that profited? The children's hospital and other charities give the money back but what of everyone else? Where are their morals?
Kim Keeps her Escalade and wedding ring but Charities give their money back? Investors suffer but she keeps her wedding ring?
What is wrong with this picture? Somebody file a lawsuit against these bottom feeders. Where are the class action lawyers when you need them? And how are the Rothsteins paying their high dollar lawyers? With the money they stole from the investors? Isn't this money laundering?
Posted by: Anonymous | February 4, 2010 7:03 PM