Rothsteins Owe Tax Man $10 Mil

IRS files tax lien on couple, can enter all properties

Add the IRS to the list of folks lining up to see if there's any money left in the wake of Scott Rothstein's $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.

Rothstein and wife Kim owe the Internal Revenue Service $10.1 million for unpaid 2008 taxes, according to the Sun-Sentinel, and the agency took action yesterday to try to collect.

Federal authorities filed a tax lien against the Rothsteins and thanks to a judge's approval, can enter all of the couple's homes and properties in Florida, Rhode Island and New York to take an inventory of assets.

Included is the $6.5 million Fort Lauderdale mansion where Kim has been biding her time since her husband was arrested in early December. Her attorney said she'll be moving out soon.

"She is choosing to leave because that house holds a great deal of negative energy for her right now," lawyer Scott Saidel told the Sun-Sentinel. "Kim is just trying to get through all this and get it resolved. She just hopes that whatever punishment Scott gets, there is some sort of life after prison."

Rothstein, 47, pleaded guilty in January to racketeering, money laundering and fraud in connection with the $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme by duping clients of his law firm into investing millions in fake legal settlements.

Several of those investors have already filed lawsuits to try to recover funds, but it's unknown how much money may be left over from the scam.

Kim Rothstein is not the target of any investigation, her lawyer said, though it appears the one source of income she was receiving since her husband's arrest may be drying up.

It was reported last month that Kim was still collecting rent on some of the homes that were forfeited to the government, but it looks like the government will be taking that money, too.

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