Attorney linked to Scott Rothstein case sentenced to 18 months in prison

Rothstein accused David Boden of taking 'money from both sides of the transaction'

David Boden

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. ā€“ A general counsel for the infamous Fort Lauderdale law firm at the center of Scott Rothstein's $1.4 billion Ponzi scheme admitted to getting a cut of the sale of fictitious confidential settlements.

David Boden, of Hallandale Beach, was a non-equity shareholder at the former Rothstein, Rosenfeld and Adler law firm. He plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud Oct. 23rd.

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Boden knew the settlements were fake and he was "lying to people and defrauding them," Rothstein said during a deposition June 12, 2012. According to a transcript of the deposition, Rothstein said Boden "was taking fees, money from both sides of the transaction" and "stealing additional money from the investors."

In a West Palm Beach courtroom Friday, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra sentenced Boden to 18 months and a year of probation.

After denying knowing Rothstein was doing anything illegal, he eventually confessed to helping broker Richard Pearson with the sale of the settlements.

According to the federal indictment "through material misstatements and omissions" Boden and Pearson caused a group of investors about $2.4 million in losses.

Unbeknown to investors, Pearson was getting a sales commission that he then shared with Boden even when the law firm's trust accounts at TD Bank didn't have any money.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence D. LaVecchio, Paul F. Schwartz, and Jeffrey N. Kaplan were the prosecutors in the case.