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Press Release

Two Individuals Sentenced In Plot To Conceal And Dispose Of Assets In Connection With Rothstein Case

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announce that Kimberly Wendell Rothstein, 38, and Stacie Weisman, 49, were sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum. Kimberly Rothstein was sentenced to 18 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Stacie Weisman was sentenced to three months in prison, to be followed by nine months of home detention and three years of supervised release. Forfeiture of the jewelry valued in excess of one million dollars and $515,000 was also ordered as to both defendants. Both defendants previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and to obstruct justice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

Kimberly Rothstein and Stacie Weisman were charged, along with Scott F. Saidel, 45, in September 2012 in connection with certain crimes committed in furtherance of a plot to conceal and dispose of assets which were subject to forfeiture in connection with a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Scott W. Rothstein. At the same time, in September 2012, Eddy Marin, 50, and Patrick Daoud, 54, were also charged in a separate, but related, matter with obstruction of justice and perjury, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1512(k) and 1621.

According to the documents filed with the court, former Ft. Lauderdale attorney Scott W. Rothstein, who was the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, P.A. (RRA), used the funds obtained from the operation of a Ponzi scheme to purchase tens of millions of dollars of real estate, vehicles, vessels, business interests, luxury watches, jewelry and sports memorabilia for himself, his wife, Kimberly Rothstein, and others. As part of his plea agreement, Scott W. Rothstein agreed to forfeit to the government all assets acquired with funds derived from the aforesaid Ponzi scheme. On November 9, 2009, agents of the IRS-CI went to the Rothstein residence, where Kimberly Rothstein assisted the agents in retrieving what was believed to be all of the available cash, jewelry and luxury watches which had been purchased by Scott W. Rothstein with proceeds derived from the Ponzi scheme. However, according to court documents, before, during and after the aforesaid seizure by federal agents on November 9, 2009, Kimberly Rothstein, Stacie Weisman, and Scott F. Saidel knowingly took action to conceal certain items of jewelry, valued in excess of one million dollars, for the purpose of preventing the government from exercising its authority to take such property into its lawful custody and control. Thereafter, Kimberly Rothstein and Stacie Weisman sold and attempted to sell a portion of this jewelry to and through various persons, including Eddy Marin and Patrick Daoud.

The documents further allege that, in connection with civil proceedings instituted by the Trustee in bankruptcy for RRA, all of the defendants took steps to obstruct justice by concealing the true location of certain items of jewelry in order to prevent its availability for use in the bankruptcy proceedings. It is further alleged that Marin and Daoud committed perjury during depositions in connection with the bankruptcy proceedings, and that Kimberly Rothstein, Stacie Weisman and Scott F. Saidel sought to have Scott W. Rothstein testify falsely in connection with those proceedings.

Defendant Scott F. Saidel pled guilty on January 30, 2013. He was sentenced on October 7, 2013 to 36 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Defendants Eddy Marin and Patrick Daoud pled guilty on October 18, 2013. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for February 3, 2014.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence LaVecchio, Jeffrey Kaplan, Paul Schwartz and Evelyn Sheehan.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Updated March 12, 2015