Saturday, September 7, 2013

LAWYER CHARGED WITH IMPERSONATING OFFICIAL IN ROTHSTEIN PONZI CASE PLEADS NOT GUILTY


Christina Kitterman, the Rothstein, Rosenfeldt lawyer who has been charged with impersonating the senior Florida Bar official in the organization's Fort Lauderdale office, in a scheme to deceive investors in Scott Rothstein's Ponzi scheme into thinking that the state Bar had frozen accounts containing investment returns due to them, entered a plea of not guilty in US District Court this week.

Ms. Kitterman was allegedly a part of a conference call, in which she, purporting to be speaking on behalf of the professional regulatory agency, assured nervous investors that the Bar had frozen their money, due to unwarranted complaints filed by other Rothstein investors. In truth and fact, Rothstein had run out of Ponzi money to pay them their "investment returns."

Since there is a presumption of innocence in all criminal cases, it is important to note here that Scott Rothstein originally could not name the individual who masqueraded as a bar official, when he was first deposed on the subject. He also is said to have identified a paralegal from his firm as the person who misled the investors, under the guise of the senior Bar officer in Fort Lauderdale. He reportedly later identified Ms. Kitterman as the impersonator. Is this case built upon a misidentification, unfairly charging another former Rothstein, Rosenfeldt lawyer ?

Scott Rothstein's cooperation, the aim of which is obviously to get a sentence reduction from the fifty years he is currently serving, needs to be truthful and credible. His prior inconsistent statements may indicate that Ms. Kitterman is not the guilty party, and Mr. Rothstein doesn't exactly have a reputation for truthfulness. I know that former lawyers at his firm are being targeted; let's be sure that justice, and not expediency, are being served.  

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