Investment Adviser Sentenced in Connection with Rothstein Case
FLORIDA - October 26, 2015 - An investment advisor connected to the Rothstein case was sentenced this afternoon to 30 months in prison.
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.
Michael Szafranski, 37, of Surfside was sentenced today in Ft. Lauderdale by United States District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas to 30 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. On July 29, 2015, Szafranski pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
According to court records, including a stipulated statement of facts filed in connection with Szafranski’s guilty plea, it was discovered in 2009 that the law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, P.A. (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. Szafranski, who was a registered investment advisor, conspired with Rothstein to induce certain persons into investing money in the confidential settlements by making material misstatements and omissions. Szafranski secretly received compensation from Rothstein and RRA while simultaneously employed by certain investors as a purportedly independent verifier of the legitimacy of the settlement transactions.
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.
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Florida
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