LAWYER WHO MADE DECEITFUL CALL TO VICTIMS SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

Ms. Kitterman

Christina Kitterman, an associate at Scott Rothstein's Ponzi scheme Fort Lauderdale law firm, who made a deceptive telephone call to investors, posing as local staff counsel for the Florida Bar, has been sentenced to five years in Federal Prison. The defendant convinced investors that the Bar was the reason Rothstein was unable to disburse "profits" to the investor/victims, this perpetuating the scam for an additional six months. This was her sole involvement in the scheme, and she received no additional compensation for this act, though she reportedly held a $140,000/year position at Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler.

Kitterman's guidelines sentence was 3-4 years, but the Court found that she she had committed perjury on the stand, and departed above the advisory guidelines. It also had her taken into custody immediately after the hearing, to begin serving her sentence. This is the second time that a District Judge has taken such an action against a lawyer convicted in the Rothstein scandal, which is unusual when attorneys receive relatively short sentences; it appears that the Court is seeking to send a message to the legal community about participation in Ponzi schemes.

Scott Rothstein himself is serving a 50-year sentence at an undisclosed location, and his reported misconduct and perjury post-sentencing may have resulted in the loss of an opportunity for a sentence reduction.