Guilty Plea Entered by Two More Individuals Charged in Plot to Conceal and Dispose of Assets in Connection with Rothstein Case

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael J. DePalma, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announced that defendants Eddy Marin, 50, and Patrick Daoud, 54, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to charges related to obstruction of justice. Marin pled guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(k). Daoud pled guilty to obstruction of justice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(c). Sentencing has been scheduled for February 3, 2014, for both men.

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 through the aforesaid Ponzi scheme. On November 9, 2009, agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, went to the Rothstein residence, where Kimberly Rothstein assisted the agents in retrieving what was believed to be all the available cash, jewelry, and luxury watches that had previously 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 attorney 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, both 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, as part of their obstructive conduct, Marin and Daoud committed perjury during depositions in connection with the bankruptcy proceedings.

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.