FBI: Fla. Lawyer's Alleged Fraud Over $1 Billion

CURT ANDERSON

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The suspected Ponzi scheme run by a high-profile South Florida lawyer is likely to exceed $1 billion and involved thousands of investors in the U.S. and abroad, a top FBI official said Thursday.

John Gillies, special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami field office, said investigators want more investors with attorney Scott Rothstein to come forward so they can better understand the full scope of the alleged scam. Gillies said the probe is likely to take weeks before any criminal charges are filed.

"We are conducting this investigation in a timely manner. But we will not be pushed. We are far from over," Gillies said.

The FBI set up a dedicated e-mail address — [e-mail] — for the investors with Rothstein, who was offering huge returns through legal settlements that investigators say were pure fiction. The FBI also set up a toll free number: 1-800-225-5324, with callers asked to select the "Rothstein Option."

Profits of 20 percent or more were commonly promised, but a civil forfeiture complaint contends that Rothstein was running a classic Ponzi scheme in which money from new investors was used to pay off older ones — and Rothstein kept most of it himself.