White-Collar Crime
Ex-Lawyer Gets 8 Years for Stealing $1M from Clients
A former Florida personal injury lawyer disbarred in May after a 34-year legal career pleaded guilty Monday to defrauding clients of $1 million over a 20-year period.
Scott Rovenger, 59, was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison in the Broward County case, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He forged signatures on checks and put together fraudulent settlements in order to divert money for himself from law firm trust accounts and repay earlier victims with funds from later victims, according to authorities and court documents.
“I used it for some gambling, for some addictions I had, for some living expenses too,” Rovenger said. “I’m totally broke … I’ve lost everything.”
