Former Bank Vice President Sentenced in Connection with Rothstein Case

A former bank vice president was sentenced to 30 months in prison, in connection with the Rothstein case.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement. 

Frank Spinosa, 54, of Ft. Lauderdale was sentenced today in Miami by United States District Judge Beth Bloom to 30 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release.  On October 8, 2015, Spinosa pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, in connection with the operation of the former Fort Lauderdale law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, P.A. (RRA). 

According to court records, including a stipulated statement of facts filed in connection with Spinosa’s guilty plea, in 2009 it was discovered that RRA was being utilized by its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Scott W. Rothstein, to commit a massive Ponzi scheme stemming from the sale of fictitious confidential settlements.  Spinosa, who, at the time, was a Regional Vice President with TD Bank, admitted that he conspired with Rothstein to induce certain persons into investing money in the confidential settlements through material misstatements by defendant Spinosa.  Specifically, Spinosa and Rothstein agreed to utilize the prestige and legitimacy of TD Bank, and Spinosa’s position as Regional Vice President, to give investors in the scheme a false sense of security and induce them into investing in the confidential settlements by fraudulently creating documents that made it appear that certain investment funds were being held in restricted accounts at TD Bank when, in fact, they were not.  

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

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 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 www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov