HFN – The founder and the chief operating officer of a Florida hedge fund have been named in a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit for their roles in a massive Ponzi scheme.
The SEC announced Tuesday that Fort Lauderdale-area residents George Levin and Frank Preve allegedly raised more than $157 million from 173 investors during a two-year period from 2007 to 2009, and then used those funds to purchase discounted legal settlements that didn’t actually exist from former attorney Scott Rothstein. Rothstein is serving 50 years in prison for carrying out a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme – with the fictitious settlements – that is considered one of the largest in South Florida history.
