Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. -- Add Scott Rothstein's side-by-side Narragansett houses to the list of the alleged Ponzi scheme operator's properties that federal prosecutors are trying to get their hands on.

Prosecutors filed an amended forfeiture suit Friday against the disgraced Florida lawyer, adding four multimillion-dollar properties to their seizure list, The Sun Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., reported, including the Narragansett houses.

Rothstein bought the houses on Bluff Hill Cove Farm Road, overlooking the eastern shore of Point Judith Pond, for $2.8 million each from onetime Rhode Island nightclub magnate Michael C. Kent, one in 2006 and one in 2008.

But Rothstein's high-profile lifestyle began to unravel and federal authorities were scouring records of his investments and offshore bank accounts. On Oct. 20, he filed a quit-claim deed in Narragansett Town Hall turning over ownership of the properties -- now valued at $4.5 million -- without any exchange of money, to a limited-liability corporation based in Delaware called "NRI 15."

Rothstein took the same step with several Florida properties he owned, turning them over to Delaware companies, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

In an earlier suit, prosecutors already had sought several of Rothstein's Florida homes, sports cars and yachts. Besides his Narragansett houses, the Sun-Sentinel reported, they added to the list on Friday a $7.2-million Boca Raton house, a Manhattan condo bought for $6 million, and two commercial properties in Boca Raton. In all, they are seeking Rothstein's interests in 22 businesses and nearly 100 corporations.

The FBI alleges Rothstein began running a $1 billion Ponzi scheme in 2005 by selling investors stakes in legal settlements that did not exist. The Florida Supreme Court disbarred him on Wednesday, but no criminal charges have been filed against him, though dozens of FBI and IRS agents are investigating.

 Tags  economy Narragansett RI Scott Rothstein

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