Accused Fla. attorney returns from abroad

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A Florida attorney accused of running a fraudulent investment scheme returned to Fort Lauderdale after disappearing abroad, observers said.

Once-high-flying lawyer Scott Rothstein touched down at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport Tuesday afternoon aboard a chartered jet from Casablanca, Morocco, four days after sending an e-mail to colleagues at his troubled law firm implying they wouldn't see him again, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

Rothstein, whose firm enjoyed a meteoric rise and who was frequently seen accompanying politicians and sports figures, has been hit by accusations from the firm and investors of misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars from an investment business he covertly ran out of his law office, the newspaper said.

The Sun Sentinel quoted unnamed sources as saying the Fort Lauderdale hedge fund Banyan Income Fund invested more than $300 million with Rothstein.

Rothstein was a major fundraiser for Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and other major politicians. His law partners say he wiped out the firm's finances, The Miami Herald reported.

The newspaper said Rothstein met prosecutors and an independent auditor was appointed to examine the financial records of the firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler.