US wants 40 years in prison for Fla. Ponzi lawyer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a disbarred South Florida attorney should get a 40-year prison sentence for running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.

Prosecutors said Monday in court papers that 47-year-old Scott Rothstein deserves some breaks for cooperating with investigators and willingly returning from Morocco, where he fled last fall when his scam was collapsing.

Rothstein’s attorney has asked for a 30-year sentence, but prosecutor say that is not enough of a deterrent. The scam mainly involved investments in faked legal settlements.

Rothstein is to be sentenced Wednesday. He pleaded guilty in January to five felonies that carry a combined maximum 100-year prison sentence.