FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Possible conflict-of-interest concerns for the lawyer representing attorney Scott Rothstein, accused in a Florida Ponzi scheme, were settled Wednesday.
During a brief hearing in a federal courtroom in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Rothstein gave up his right to appeal any sentence he may receive for allegedly running a $1.2 billion investment scam based on possible conflicts of interest on the part of his lawyer, Marc Nurik, the South Florida Sun-Times reported.
The issue was relevant because Nurik was a one-time employee of Rothstein at his now-defunct firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, the newspaper said. Federal prosecutors who have charged Rothstein with racketeering, money laundering and fraud say they have no reason to believe Nurik was involved in any criminal activity.
The formerly high-flying Rothstein, 47, is scheduled to plead guilty Jan. 27 to charges that could send him to prison for the rest of his life. The Sun-Sentinel said he appeared before U.S. District Judge James Cohn shackled, handcuffed and wearing a khaki prison uniform, telling the judge he is taking drugs for anxiety disorder, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
