Sapp seeks money back from crooked lawyer

MIAMI, May 20 (UPI) -- Former Tampa Bay and Oakland defensive tackle Warren Sapp petitioned this week for the return of $103,000 held for him by an admitted Ponzi schemer.

Sapp's lawyers notified a federal judge this week that Scott Rothstein's law firm held the money in a trust account for Sapp, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. Sapp had apparently received the money in a legal settlement and was not a victim of Rothstein's financial wrongdoing.

Rothstein has pleaded guilty to five felony counts involving a $1.4 billion Ponzi scheme and faces up to 100 years behind bars. His law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler in Fort Lauderdale, is bankrupt and the U.S. Attorney's Office wants to seize its assets to provide some restitution for those Rothstein defrauded.

Sapp, 37, was a football star at the University of Miami before going on to the NFL. He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders for 13 seasons.