MIAMI, May 28 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in Florida charged four Scott Rothstein associates with aiding and abetting the convicted Ponzi scheme operator with his $1.2 billion fraud.
Prosecutors charged attorney Howard Kusnick, who allegedly helped Rothstein defraud car dealer Ed Morse and his wife out of $57 million, William Corte and Curtis Renie, two information technicians at Rothstein's law firm, and Stephen Caputi, a former owner with Rothstein of a nightclub, Cafe Iguana.
The two information technicians were accused of creating a Web site that gave false information about Rothstein's bank accounts, making it appear that Rothstein's firm had hundreds of millions of dollars in order to dupe investors, The Miami Herald reported Saturday.
Corte's attorney Alvin Entin said his client was just doing what his boss told him to do. Corte and Renie, "didn't know what was the purpose of duplicating the Web site or fudging the bank accounts," he said.
The four were charged by information rather than indictment, which means they are cooperating with authorities, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
They are each expected to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Rothstein was sentenced to a 50-year prison term in June. He was also ordered to repay 320 fraud victims $363 million.
