Ponzi schemer's watches to be auctioned

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., July 12 (UPI) -- Federal authorities said a watch collection belonging to Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein will be auctioned in Florida to help pay back his victims.

The U.S. Treasury Department, which raised $5.6 million last year by auctioning Rothstein's cars and boats, said the watches will go up on the auction block Wednesday at the Broward County Convention Center to help compensate the victims of his $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, The Miami Herald reported.

Nathaniel Borgelt, a watch specialist with Antiquorum Auctioneers, said Rothstein, who is serving a 50-year jail sentence, likely over-inflated the worth of his seven prized watches when he claimed they were each worth well over $1 million. Borgelt said it is likely the entire collection will sell for about $1 million.

"The collection tells me he was a person who was very much about appearances, very much about trying to impress people, and not at all worried about frivolous spending," Borgelt said.

Officials said Wednesday's auction will also include two Corvettes, a Mercedes and various other items.