LAWYER WHO PARTICIPATED IN ROTHSTEIN FRAUD HAS SENTENCE QUIETLY REDUCED

                         

Douglas Bates, who you may recall is the Fort Lauderdale attorney who served as a reference for convicted Ponzi schemer/lawyer Scott Rothstein, by falsely advising some of Rothstein's investors that he had referred major cases to him, and by writing a bogus opinion letter, and who is currently serving a 5-year sentence, has received a substantial sentence reduction.

Bates statements to investors provided what appeared to be verification that Rothstein possessed a large number of settled lawsuits, which investors could purchase at a deeply discounted rate, cashing in when the settlement payments came due. It was a complete fabrication.

Bates, who also allegedly assisted Rothstein in a scheme to con a wealthy investor out of $57m, has had his 60-month sentence reduced to 40 months. The US Attorney's Office stipulated with defense counsel, to a Rule 35(b)  request, for rendering Substantial Assistance, which resulted in a number of convictions, including an attorney, and police officers according to the motion.

The parties to the stipulated motion requested that Bates not be brought from the North Carolina Federal Correctional Institution where he is serving time, and that the Court dispense with a hearing altogether. Though major media generally miss Federal Court orders, reducing sentences, as they come years after the then-newsworthy convictions, in this case, all the Rothstein defendants' court files are obviously being monitored, and the fact that Bates had one-third taken off his sentence has not escaped notice.