Epstein Rothst in Edwards Case No Second Ain eiided-Compfaint including those falsely claimed to have been reached by RRA for Edwards clients with claims against Epstein to the detriment of the Plaintiff Defendant Edwards made improper use of the judicial system and civil process by inter alia filing a complaint in federal court although a state court complaint had been pending on behalf of the same plaintiff for almost a year engaging in unreasonable and vexatious discovery and motion practice in certain underlying actions against Epstein making unfounded and highly charged sexual allegations in these underlying actions and using improper investigatory tools and causing damages to Epstein The United States government has stated that Rothstein conspired with others to use RRA as a criminal enterprise to conduct a racketeering activity including mail and wire fraud money laundering and cons1puacy GENERAL ALLEGATIONS This is an action for damages in excess of fifteen thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs Epstein is domiciled in Palm Beach County Florida Rothstein was at all relevant times a resident of Broward County Florida and the chairman managing partner and chief executive officer of a law firm called Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler P.A RRA whose main office was in Broward County Edwards is a resident of Broward County Florida and is licensed to practice law in the state of Florida Beginning in April and at all relevant times Edwards was a partner in RRA FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Ml3AQ Second Amended Complaint The Ponzi Scheme During Rothstein pursued a course of criminal conduct which included a scheme to defraud various investors into purchasing fake interests in assignments of fictitious structured settlements by showing them complaints filed in the Edwards cases against Epstein which settlements were falsely claimed to have been reached by RRA on behalf of clients including clients who had brought legal actions against the Plaintiff in exchange for immediate payments to these clients of a discounted lump sum amount The purpose of the investments was to enrich Rothstein along with other members of RRA and others to sustain the daily operations of RRA and specifically among other things to raise capital to continue to fund investigators which were to be used in the prosecution of claims against the Plaintiff At or near the time that Rothstein and others in his firm many of whom have pied guilty to federal crimes were pursuing this Ponzi scheme RRA was also engaged in litigation against Epstein in three civil cases The cases were Jane Doe Epstein Case No 08-CIV Jane Doe U.S District Court Southern District of Florida LM Epstein LM Case No CA and Epstein EW or Jane Doe CA collectively the Epstein Actions The lead attorney for RRA handling the Epstein Actions was Defendant Edwards Beginning in approximately the spring of through October in support of the massive Ponzi scheme Rothstein made various representations to potential investors regarding the Epstein Actions as well as other alleged claims against Epstein including but not limited to the following FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint That RRA had settled one case for at least Thirty Million Dollars That RRA had a team of investigators consisting of former law enforcement officers including a former sheriff who would use this sophisticated eavesdropping equipment and sift through a potential defendants garbage looking for damaging evidence that could be used to benefit RRA clients by enhancing the value of the clients claims and thereby engaging in tactics tantamount to legal extortion That Rothstein had meetings with Epsteins alleged victims and their families regarding the structured settlements That these victims would take a lesser settlement if paid promptly and that investors who funded these early payments would be paid their investment plus a return when Epstein paid the greater amounts to settle the claims That in addition to the Epstein Actions many women were lined up to settle with Epstein with claims for hundreds of millions of dollars That RRA attorneys would sue Epstein and disclose embarrassing information about Epstein his family friends and associates unless Epstein paid exorbitant settlements That if the potential investors did not make investments as promised on a strict timetable RRA risked being fired and would lose the cases they had against Epstein to other lawyers and That one of the RRA clients felt that Rothstein had lied to her repeatedly about funding and that she was one step away from going to another lawyer and going to the Florida Bar RRA employed a team of investigators on the Epstein Actions including Michael Fisten Fisten and former Broward County Sheriff and convicted felon Ken Jenne Jenne Fisten and Jenne were the primary investigators assigned to Edwards and routinely reported to Edwards and Rothstein regarding their investigations of Epstein Edwards brought the clients Jane Doe EW and LM to RRA when he joined the firm in April Rothstein approved Edwards incurring costs between to on the Epstein Actions costs paid for as the proceeds of its massive fraud FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint In October Rothstein directed Edwards investigative team to bring case files into a conference room at RRA to be examined by potential investors Then Fisten and Jenne brought in the case files for the Epstein Actions which numbered as many as nineteen boxes On or about October Dean Kretschmar Kretschmar a representative of one of the investor groups was encouraged by Rothstein in a meeting with other partners of RRA to look at the Epstein case files that Fisten and Jenne had stacked around the conference room On or about October Illinois attorney Michael Legamaro and his client hedge fund operator Thane Ritchie were also invited to examine Epstein case files and a flight log displayed by Rothstein that allegedly contained the names of numerous celebrities who purportedly flew on Epstein aircraft Mr Legamaro and his client reviewed both the flight log and the case files in the offices of RRA The Epstein case files were displayed to potential investors in RRAs office to show them that the cases against Epstein were legitimate and that the alleged victims actually existed all for the purpose of obtaining the investments Although Edwards has given sworn deposition testimony that only a few attorneys employed at RRA were directly involved in the prosecution of the Epstein Actions a privilege log prepared by Edwards and other documents clearly reflect that more than eighteen RRA lawyers were involved in prosecuting the Epstein Actions Additionally four RRA investigators and several legal assistants and paralegals were involved in the Epstein Actions FOWLER WHITE Epstein v_Rothstein,_Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint On multiple occasions and in contrast to Edwards sworn testimony many RRA attorneys conferred and were involved with the prosecution of the Epstein Actions including as described below a On May Russell Adler Adler a name partner in RRA who took part with Edwards in the prosecution of the Epstein Actions sent an email to the staff and attorneys in RRA regarding depositions in the Epstein Actions On July Jenne sent an email to Edwards about the Epstein Actions On July Edwards sent an email to Adler stating that with the right moves we could force Epstein to settle for a lot of money On July Edwards sent an email to the Attorneys at RRA requesting a litigation meeting On July Priscila Nascimento one of the secretaries to Rothstein was advised of the scheduled meeting On July Cara Holmes an attorney at RRA working on the Epstein cases and a former agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent an email to Edwards stating that our best bet is to go after those close to Epstein In July Edwards and co-counsel Paul Cassell exchanged emails about their lack of proof on a previously-filed motion which claimed that Epstein was moving his assets to avoid paying any judgments that may be obtained by RRA clients against Epstein On August an email was sent from Rothstein to Mark Nurik Nurik an attorney at RRA regarding legal research on causes of action against Epstein On that same day Nurik sent an email to Rothstein regarding discussions about Epstein Also on August Adler sent an email to Rothstein regarding legal research on the causes of FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint actions against Epstein On-August Edwards sent an email to RRA attomeys 267called litigation strategy regarding Epstein On August Edwards sent an email to Nurik regarding a legal opinion on the Epstein matter i In the month of August Edwards Jenne and Fisten exchanged emails on approximately four occasions discussing investigative techniques and other Epstein matters In the month of September emails were exchanged between Edwards and William Berger Berger a partner at RRA who also participated in the Epstein actions regarding Litigation Strategy On September Edwards sent an email to Elizabeth Villar a legal assistant to Rothstein about Epsteins alleged asset transfers and On September and again on September Edwards and Fisten exchanged emails on Epstein Litigation Strategy By August Edwards was aware that RRA offices were audio monitored and recorded including discussions on speakerphone Beginning in October the level of communications by and between Edwards and others including Rothstein described below increased dramatically as Rothstein was running out of money and was in search of new victims in order to continue to perpetuate the Ponzi scheme and coincided with Rothsteins efforts to get the investments for the Epstein actions concluded Those communications include FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint a From October to October emails were sent between Edwards and Berger Edwards and Fisten and Edwards and RRA attorneys regarding Epstein Litigation Strategy On October Edwards sent an email to Nurik on JEE Epstein Evidence During this same time frame Rothstein was exchanging emails with the investors for the Epstein cases telling them that if the investment was not made soon he would lose the client group to other lawyers During this same time frame specifically on or around October K.retschmar and Legamaro of the investor group were shown by Rothstein the actual case files of RRA in the Epstein Actions The Epstein files were brought to the conference room by Fisten and Jenne During this same time frame on or around October A.J Discala a potential investor in the Epstein matters sent an email to Rothstein about the private placement memoranda for the investment On October the following events occurred a Edwards sent an email to book a conference room for as many attorneys as possible to attend a meeting on October on the Epstein Actions The email requested that Jenne Adler Berger Barry Stone Mike Wheeler Cara Holmes Rob Busche Fisten Steve Jaffe and Nurik attend Nurik emailed Edwards about the meeting Edwards sent an email to Pat Diaz another investigator on the Epstein case regarding new developments which require your expertise FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint On October the following events occurred a Jenne sent an email to Rothstein advising him of an October meeting Rothstein emailed the investors that the Epstein client is going to another lawyer if the investment is not made right away Rothstein sent an email to Adler regarding causes of action against Epstein Adler sent an email to RRA attorneys on Epstein litigation strategy Edwards sent an email to RRA attorneys on Epstein litigation strategy Edwards sent an email to RRA attorneys regarding causes of action against Epstein Adler sent an email to Rothstein regarding causes of action against Epstein Rothstein sent to Legamaro counsel for the Investors an email regarding the causes of action against Epstein Based upon the foregoing Rothstein received information from Edwards and Adler regarding causes of action against Epstein and Rothstein then sent information regarding causes of action against Epstein to Legamaro counsel for the Investors for the purpose of obtaining funds for the Ponzi scheme Given the interdependence of so many RRA lawyers investigators and other staff and the wide communications that necessarily accompanied the involvement of so many people Edwards knew or should have known that his Epstein case files were being shown and touted to investors and that he was assisting and aiding Rothstein to close the deal with the FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint investors particularly where the magnitude of the potential settlements in the Epstein Actions was a key selling point In October Rothstein convinced investors to put up money to realize a substantial return emanating from the fraudulent settlement of the Epstein cases In November RRA collapsed and ultimately went into bankruptcy and Rothstein voluntarily relinquished his law license and was disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court Subsequently Rothstein was arrested arraigned in federal court pled guilty and ultimately was sentenced to a 50-year prison sentence for fraud and racketeering based on an alleged billion Ponzi scheme designed among other things to infuse funds into RRA his own pockets and those of his cohorts The federal government called RRA a criminal enterprise COUNT I ABUSE OF PROCESS EDWARDS Plaintiff realleges each and every allegation contained in paragraphs through as if they were fully set forth here Edwards made illegal improper and perverted use of the civil process as follows a On September Edwards filed a state court action on behalf of client L.M against Edwards seeking damages On July Edwards sent an email to the Attorneys at RRA requesting a litigation meeting On July Edwards on behalf of client L.M filed a two hundred and thirty four page one hundred fifty-six count complaint against Epstein in U.S District Court for the Southern District of Florida styled L.M Epstein Case Number 09-CIV However Edwards was never served The case was filed with a misspelling of Epsteins FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint last name so as not to alert the defendant that the case had been filed Each of the one hundred and fifty-six counts is a separate cause of action pursuant to U.S.C which provides a civil remedy authorizing damages of no less than per violation Thus Edwards sought total damages in excess of Twenty-Three Million Four Hundred Thousand Dollars Edwards knew or should have known that highly-charged sexual allegations in that complaint that Epstein forced L.M to have oral sex with him were false Edwards client confirmed this fact in her deposition but Edwards never amended the complaint On or about October Attorney Legamaro and his client potential investor Thane Ritchie were shown Epstein case files at RRA for the purpose of obtaining Richies investment in the Epstein actions Epstein believes that the federal complaint in L.M Epstein was shown to Legamaro and Ritchie at that time and that it was prepared by Edwards with highly-charged sexual allegations solely to be shown to induce investment in the Epstein Actions and advance the Ponzi scheme as demonstrated by the fact that Edwards never served Epstein with a summons and complaint in that federal action which action was filed long after Edwards filed and served a state court civil action on behalf of L.M On or about October Edwards who had filed a state complaint against Epstein on behalf of E.W emailed Edwards assistant to file a federal complaint against Epstein on behalf of like the one Edwards had filed in federal court on behalf of L.M Edwards also made illegal improper and perverted use of the civil process in order to bolster the case to investors by utilizing it to conduct unreasonable and unnecessary discovery making unfounded allegations and engaging in improper motion practice including but not limited to FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint Deposing three airplane pilots employed by Epstein and seeking a deposition of a fourth pilot collectively the three were deposed for over twelve hours but were not asked a single question relating to any of the claims of Edwards clients Instead they were asked many inflammatory questions that had no legitimate legal purpose Noticing and subpoenaing for deposition the following people a Donald Trump a real estate investor and television personality Alan Dershowitz a renowned Harvard Law Professor and one of Epsteins criminal defense lawyers David Copperfield illusionist Individuals who had knowledge of Epsteins charitable political or other donations Taking the deposition of Mark Epstein brother of the Plaintiff but not asking any questions about Edwards clients Edwards targeted the foregoing individuals because they were close to Epstein not because they had any connection to or knowledge of the claims of Edwards clients Edwards intent was to harass Epsteins friends family and acquaintances Asking outrageous questions of the Plaintiff in depositions which had no legitimate bearing on the cases or the issues to be tried including questions regarding the size of his genitalia whether witnesses would leave their children alone with the Plaintiff Conducting irrelevant and meritless discovery by issuing a subpoena to obtain records from an alleged sex therapist Dr Leonard Baird in Massachusetts when issues relating to Epsteins mental and emotional states were not at issue and when Dr Baird had never even treated the Plaintiff FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint Directing and filing of Notices for the following health care professionals to produce medical records of Epstein when Epsteins mental and emotional state was not an issue in the case a Charles Galecki M.D Bruce Markowitz M.D and Steven Alexander Ph.D Directing and filing Notices to the following banks of Epstein Colonial Bank and Palm Beach National Bank to produce all financial records of Epstein allegedly for the purpose of obtaining records of payments by Epstein to the alleged victims knowing full well that the alleged victims testified to being paid in cash Directing and filing of Notices to obtain all records of Epsteins prescriptions and all other health related documents at two local pharmacies when no issues of Epsteins health had been raised in the Epstein Actions Edwards filed motions in the Epstein Actions attempting to plead a cause of action for RICO when there was no good faith basis for doing so and Edwards filed motions to freeze assets of Epstein without any evidence that Epstein was attempting to sequester or transfer assets and prior to Edwards obtaining a judgment against Epstein Ultimately the federal district court found the motion was entirely devoid of evidence of Defendants Epstein alleged transfers Edwards had ulterior motives for making these improper uses of civil process which included among others maintaining a Ponzi scheme FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint obtaining funds for the continued investigation and prosecution of the Epstein Actions obtaining operating revenue so that RRA could continue to operate As a result of the above the Plaintiff has suffered damages by incurring additional and unnecessary attorneys fees and costs to defend these abuses of process WHEREFORE the Plaintiff Jeffrey Epstein demands a trial by jury a judgment against Defendant Bradley Edwards for compensatory damages interest costs of this action and any other relief deemed appropriate by this Court COUNT II CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT ABUSE OF PROCESS ROTHSTEIN Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation contained in paragraphs through and through as if they were fully set forth herein Rothstein conspired and entered into an express or implied agreement to engage in the tort of abuse of process as part of a plan to defraud investors and further the Ponzi scheme Rothstein knew or should have known of Edwards efforts to make illegal improper and perverted use of the civil process The actions described in paragraphs through and through constitute overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy As a member of the conspiracy Rothstein is liable for the acts described herein As a result of the conspiracy Epstein has been damaged by incurring additional and unnecessary attorneys fees and costs and the cost of installing an enhanced security system and retention of security personnel for the safety of Epstein and to protect his property FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint WHEREFORE the Plaintiff Jeffrey Epstein demands a trial by jury a judgment against the Defendant Scott Rothstein for compensatory damages costs interest and any and other relief deemed appropriate by this Court CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been duly furnished via Email and U.S Mail this 22nd day of August Jack Scarola Esq Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart Shipley P.A Palm Beach Lakes Blvd P.O Drawer West Palm Beach FL Jack Alan Goldberger Esq Atterbury Goldberger Weiss P.A Australian A venue South Suite West Palm Beach FL Marc Nurik Esq Law Offices of Marc Nurik One Broward Blvd Suite Ft Lauderdale FL Martin Weinberg Esq Martin Weinberg P.A Park Plaza Suite Suffolk MA FOWLER WHITE Epstein Rothstein Edwards Case No Second Amended Complaint Respectfully submitted I tf..Uf 1.JY Cr Joseph Ackerman Jr Fla Bar No FOWLER WHITE
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