Kim Rothstein, the wife of convicted South Florida Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to hide jewelry, valued at $1 million, from investigators.
Rothstein, 38, entered her guilty plea Friday in Fort Lauderdale federal court. She had initially entered a not guilty plea but her attorney previously said she would take full responsibility. Rothstein's sentencing hearing has been scheduled in April.
One of Kim Rothstein's friends, Stacie Weisman, 49, also pleaded guilty Friday in the same jewelry-hiding conspiracy. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled in June.
Another defendant in the case, Kim Rothstein's former lawyer, Scott Saidel, pleaded guilty earlier this week for his role and faces sentencing in June.
Scott Rothstein is serving a 50-year prison sentence for operating a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme that involved investments in fake legal settlements. The hidden jewelry was among the assets investigators sought to seize and auction to partially repay wronged investors.
Kim Rothstein, Weisman and Saidel were charged last year in a scheme to conceal jewels from authorities, officials say.
On Nov. 9, 2009, agents with the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations went to the Rothstein residence, where Kim Rothstein assisted them in retrieving what was believed to be all the available cash, jewelry and luxury watches purchased by Scott Rothstein with proceeds from the Ponzi scheme, authorities said.
However, according to court documents, Kim Rothstein, Weisman and Saidel “knowingly” concealed jewelry “for the purpose of preventing the government from exercising its authority to take such property into its lawful custody and control,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Rothstein and Weisman allegedly sold and attempted to sell a portion of the jewelry to and through various persons, including Eddy Marin and Patrick Daoud, who were separately charged, authorities said.
The cases for Marin and Daoud are pending.
More Local Stories:
