Ex-lawyer faces sentencing for Ponzi scheme

By CURT ANDERSON AP Legal Affairs Writer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - Disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein faces decades in prison when he's sentenced in South Florida for operating a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.

A federal judge is scheduled Wednesday to impose a sentence on Rothstein, who turns 48 on Thursday. Rothstein could get anywhere from 30 years to the maximum 100-year sentence for five felony convictions.

Rothstein is seeking mercy due to his extensive cooperation with investigators.

Before it collapsed last fall, the scheme was built on supposedly lucrative investments in faked confidential legal settlements. Authorities say the scam enabled Rothstein to buy at least two dozen homes and numerous exotic cars and contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to politicians.