11th Circuit Court

Federal judge nixes 551-pound man’s plea to end house arrest early due to his weight

A federal judge in Florida lost little time in nixing a 551-pound pharmacist’s argument that his 30-month house-arrest sentence in a pill mill case should end early because his weight prevents him from leaving home anyway. Attorney Edward Page of Tampa also argued that his client, John Goodman, 70, wanted…

Jul 23, 2014 4:25 PM CDT

Ex-bank exec is latest to face criminal case linked to ex-lawyer’s $1.2B scheme; victims to get $50M

A former South Florida bank president convicted of bank fraud and sentenced to probation decades ago is the latest individual charged—and expected to take a plea—in a federal criminal case linked to a swindle of at least $1.2 billion by now-imprisoned former attorney Scott Rothstein. Frank Prevé Jr., 70, was…

Jul 15, 2014 6:15 PM CDT

FCC stakes out Florida driver, seeks to fine him $48K for allegedly using cellphone jammer

It is illegal in a number of jurisdictions to use a cellphone while driving, at least if it’s not hands-free device. But it’s also illegal, based on similar safety concerns, for a driver to try to prevent fellow motorists from using cellphones by jamming their signals, the Tampa Tribune reports.…

Jun 24, 2014 8:45 PM CDT

Prison official faints during execution; sentence was upheld despite jurors’ gag gifts, drug secrecy

The execution of a Georgia inmate went off without a hitch on Tuesday, although a prison official fainted during the procedure. Marcus Wellons apologized for murdering and raping a 15-year-old girl before he received execution drugs from a source that was undisclosed under a state secrecy law, report the Atlanta…

Jun 18, 2014 12:22 PM CDT

Owners of mom-and-pop store take plea in $24M check-cashing case; tax refunds were key

A husband and wife who own a Florida convenience market have taken a plea concerning a $24-million check-cashing scheme in which federal tax refunds played a prominent role. Mohammad Sultan and Ashrafunnahar Mohsin are accused by federal prosecutors of cashing more than $20 million in fraudulent checks in November 2012…

Jun 17, 2014 3:55 PM CDT

Federal judge nixes receiver’s suit, says law firms aren’t ‘insurers of good behavior’ by clients

A federal judge in Georgia has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a receiver against an Atlanta law firm, finding that attorneys have no duty to blow the whistle on their clients. On the contrary, except in very limited circumstances, lawyers are bound by a duty of confidentiality to their clients,…

Jun 16, 2014 10:30 PM CDT

3rd name partner of law firm shuttered by founder’s $1.4B swindle takes plea in felony case

A trifecta of felony convictions looms for a once-prominent South Florida law firm, following a guilty plea in federal court in Miami on Wednesday by Stuart Rosenfeldt. The 59-year-old is the third of three former name partners of the bankrupt Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler firm to take a plea in a…

Jun 12, 2014 8:43 PM CDT

Famed ‘Mockingbird’ author Harper Lee settles suit against hometown museum

A federal lawsuit by the author of To Kill a Mockingbird against a museum in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, has apparently been settled. Although terms are confidential, the case was dismissed Thursday at the request of the parties and Monroe County Heritage Museum is no longer using the title…

Jun 6, 2014 3:00 PM CDT

Feds charge another Rothstein lawyer, say sheriff’s office went to escort’s home to erase phone info

A name partner of a now-shuttered South Florida law firm linked to a massive fraud has been federally charged with a single conspiracy count. Stuart Rosenfeldt is charged with conspiracy to commit campaign finance fraud, bank fraud and civil rights violations. He could get as much as five years if…

May 22, 2014 10:10 PM CDT

Lawyer who impersonated bar official in aid of law firm founder’s Ponzi scheme gets 5 years

Christina Kitterman has said she had no idea her longtime mentor, law firm founder Scott Rothstein, was involved in a $1.4 billion fraud. So she agreed to help him and the firm out by making a phone call and pretending to be the chief of the Florida Bar’s office in…

May 20, 2014 9:40 PM CDT

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author Harper Lee wants to reinstate lawsuit against hometown museum

Harper Lee, author of the iconic trial novel To Kill a Mockingbird, wants to reinstate a federal lawsuit she had earlier agreed to settle. Lee’s suit, against the Monroe County Heritage Museum in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, alleged that the institution was profiting from using her name and the…

May 20, 2014 6:15 PM CDT

Park memorial honoring murdered law firm partner draws fire due to jailed founder’s notoriety

For years, no one apparently noticed that a park memorial for crime victims in South Florida had been paid for by a law firm now associated with a massive swindle. Funded in honor of murdered Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler partner Melissa Britt Lewis, the site at a Broward County nature park…

May 15, 2014 9:25 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: What free speech rights do government employees have?

Can a government employee be fired for truthful testimony given after being subpoenaed? The answer to this question seems obvious: Such a firing of an employee for his or her speech in court would violate the First Amendment. But that is the issue in Lane v. Franks, which is being…

Apr 28, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Feds charge 2 sheriff’s officers in civil rights case linked to ex-lawyer jailed in $1.2B swindle

Two suspended sheriff’s officers were federally charged Friday in a claimed conspiracy to violate civil rights that is linked to a now-disbarred Florida lawyer serving a 50-year prison term in a $1.2 billion swindle. Lt. David Benjamin, 48, who once headed the internal affairs department for the Broward County sheriff’s…

Apr 25, 2014 5:05 PM CDT

Former law firm CFO charged in $1.2B swindle is 18th to face a criminal case, feds say

The former chief financial officer of a defunct South Florida law firm has been charged with a role in the $1.2 billion swindle for which its former managing partner Scott Rothstein is now serving a 50-year federal prison sentence. Irene Shannon, 50, who was formerly known as Irene Stay, faces…

Apr 16, 2014 8:55 PM CDT