Fla. attorney faces new financial scandal

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A high-flying Florida attorney, already accused of running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, is being probed in a separate, $57 million scam, sources say.

Unnamed sources told The Miami Herald that Boca Raton, Fla., auto magnate Ed Morse and his wife Carol lost the money when Scott Rothstein, 47, allegedly perpetrated an elaborate series of lies and delays, and used forged court orders gain $57 million from the couple. The Morses had hired him in a legal dispute between them and an interior decorator, the Herald reported Wednesday.

Rothstein, a well-known Fort Lauderdale lawyer whose clients and social circle included some of Florida's top politicians and sports figures, has already been hit by allegations he sank hundreds of millions of investors' dollars into a Ponzi scheme. Some of those investors have reportedly filed suit to force Rothstein's law firm into bankruptcy.

The Morses' lawyer declined to comment to the Herald, as did Rothstein's attorney.

The Ed Morse Automotive Group, founded by Morse, 88, and his father in 1946, owns 14 dealerships in Florida and Alabama, records show. The Morses have been close to Rothstein for several years, the Herald reported.