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Florida Investment Advisor Sentenced for Wire Fraud
An investment advisor connected to the Rothstein case was sentenced this afternoon to 30 months in prison.
Michael Szafranski, 37, of Surfside was sentenced today in Ft. Lauderdale by United States District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas to 30 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
On July 29, 2015, Szafranski pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
According to court records, including a stipulated statement of facts filed in connection with Szafranski’s guilty plea, it was discovered in 2009 that the law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, P.A. (RRA) was being utilized by its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Scott W. Rothstein, to commit a massive Ponzi scheme stemming from the sale of fictitious confidential settlements.
Szafranski, who was a registered investment advisor, conspired with Rothstein to induce certain persons into investing money in the confidential settlements by making material misstatements and omissions. Szafranski secretly received compensation from Rothstein and RRA while simultaneously employed by certain investors as a purportedly independent verifier of the legitimacy of the settlement transactions.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence D. LaVecchio, Paul F. Schwartz, and Jeffrey N. Kaplan.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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