Rothstein Computer Techs Sentenced in Scheme

Men who set up fake bank website get 37 months behind bars

Two computer technicians who helped Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein set up a fake bank website to dupe victims of his $1.4 billion scam were sentenced to 37 months in federal prison Wednesday.

Curtis Renie and William Corte, former information technology workers at Rothstein's defunct law firm, were taken into custody after U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas handed down the sentences, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

Both men pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges.

Corte and Renie created a fictitious banking web page that was used to make it appear as if the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm had as much as $1.1 billion on deposit at TD Bank. The funds didn't exist, but the web page was used to lure investors into RRA.

Attorneys for the pair had claimed they didn't know what the fake website was being used for, but Dimitrouleas said they knew exactly what they were doing.

Rothstein pleaded guilty in January 2010 to five charges stemming from the scheme, which was used to fund his lavish lifestyle, which included several businesses, large homes and luxury sports cars.
 
The 49-year-old is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence at an undisclosed location. 

Three other associates of Rothstein have pleaded guilty in the scheme, including RRA's chief operating officer Debra Villegas, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison last October. Former partner Howard Kusnick received a two-year sentence and associate Stephen Caputi received a five-year sentence.

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