HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017516.jpg
3 MB
Extraction Summary
6
People
3
Organizations
1
Locations
2
Events
2
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Legal deposition transcript
File Size:
3 MB
Summary
This document is a deposition transcript (pages 102-105) where a witness, likely Scott Rothstein, admits to using the 'Epstein case' as a 'fake product' to drive his Ponzi scheme. He testifies that he sold 'purportedly confidential settlements' to investors and needed to create fictions around the Epstein case to secure an influx of money. The witness confirms consulting with his co-conspirator, Russell Adler, to gain enough knowledge about the Epstein case to successfully pitch it to investors.
People (6)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Witness | Deponent / Ponzi Scheme Operator |
Admitting to using the Epstein case to sell fake confidential settlements to investors; self-described 'Ponzi scheme ...
|
| Brad Edwards | Lawyer |
Described as a 'young lawyer' who attended fundraisers/parties at the witness's home.
|
| Russell Adler | Co-conspirator / Lawyer |
Identified as co-conspirator at RRA; witness consulted him to gain knowledge about the Epstein case to pitch it to in...
|
| Mr. Goldberger | Attorney |
Conducting the questioning of the witness.
|
| Mr. Scarola | Attorney |
Objecting to the line of questioning.
|
| Jeffrey Epstein | Subject of Scheme |
Referenced as 'Epstein case' or 'Epstein matters'; used by the witness as a 'fake product' to pitch to investors.
|
Organizations (3)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| RRA |
Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler (implied); law firm where illegal activities took place.
|
|
| Friedman, Lombardi & Olson |
Court reporting firm listed in footer.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Implied by footer stamp 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT'.
|
Timeline (2 events)
During Ponzi scheme era
Locations (1)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Location of fundraisers and parties attended by Brad Edwards.
|
Relationships (2)
Explicitly stated: 'Russell Adler is your co-conspirator, we've established that.'
Edwards attended parties/fundraisers at Witness's home.
Key Quotes (4)
"I was selling purportedly confidential settlements. Confidentiality was the hallmark of the Ponzi scheme..."Source
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Quote #1
"I would have to create some sort of fictions in order to sell the fake product."Source
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Quote #2
"That's when you decided to use the Epstein matters, correct? A. Yes."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017516.jpg
Quote #3
"And in order to gain that knowledge, you spoke to your co-conspirator, Russell Adler; is that correct? A. That's one of the things I did."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017516.jpg
Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (4,394 characters)
Page 102
1 trying to make money.
2 Q. And these young lawyers, would you consider
3 Mr. Edwards to be a young lawyer or a middle-aged
4 lawyer?
5 A. Young lawyer.
6 Q. Okay. Was he one of young lawyers that came
7 to these fundraisers at your home?
8 A. I don't recall whether he was there or not.
9 I recall him being at some, but I didn't know if he
10 was at all of them.
11 Q. Okay. You do recall him coming to some of
12 the fundraisers, though, correct?
13 A. I recall him being at my home. It may have
14 been for firm parties or other parties, it may have
15 been for fundraisers there.
16 Q. And that was during the time period that the
17 Ponzi scheme was still going on, correct?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. Did Adler ever the tell you about any
20 discussions he had with Brad Edwards about the illegal
21 part of the operations at Rothstein?
22 A. Can you reask the question, please?
23 Q. Sure. Sure.
24 Did Russell Adler ever tell you -- Russell
25 Adler is your co-conspirator, we've established that.
1 trying to make money.
2 Q. And these young lawyers, would you consider
3 Mr. Edwards to be a young lawyer or a middle-aged
4 lawyer?
5 A. Young lawyer.
6 Q. Okay. Was he one of young lawyers that came
7 to these fundraisers at your home?
8 A. I don't recall whether he was there or not.
9 I recall him being at some, but I didn't know if he
10 was at all of them.
11 Q. Okay. You do recall him coming to some of
12 the fundraisers, though, correct?
13 A. I recall him being at my home. It may have
14 been for firm parties or other parties, it may have
15 been for fundraisers there.
16 Q. And that was during the time period that the
17 Ponzi scheme was still going on, correct?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. Did Adler ever the tell you about any
20 discussions he had with Brad Edwards about the illegal
21 part of the operations at Rothstein?
22 A. Can you reask the question, please?
23 Q. Sure. Sure.
24 Did Russell Adler ever tell you -- Russell
25 Adler is your co-conspirator, we've established that.
Page 103
1 Did Russell Adler in the furtherance of your
2 conspiracy ever tell you he had discussed with Brad
3 Edwards about the illegal activities at RRA?
4 A. No.
5 Q. Now, you testified when asked about whether
6 the press -- if you were involved in asking the press
7 to run with the Epstein story, you said something to
8 the effect, "the way I was selling the Ponzi scheme it
9 would be overkill."
10 I didn't understand your answer like you
11 didn't understand some of my questions, so I'd like
12 you to kind of tell me what you meant by that.
13 A. I was selling purportedly confidential
14 settlements. Confidentiality was the hallmark of the
15 Ponzi scheme, so too much publicity would have created
16 a problem for me in the sale of what was supposed to
17 be a completely confidential settlement.
18 Q. I think what you are telling me, and I don't
19 want to misstate what I think you are telling me, but
20 is it true that you felt some publicity would be okay
21 but too much would be counter to the purposes of the
22 conspiracy. Is that a fair statement?
23 A. The way I was thinking about it at the time
24 this was going on was that some publicity would assist
25 in establishing for the potential investors that there
1 Did Russell Adler in the furtherance of your
2 conspiracy ever tell you he had discussed with Brad
3 Edwards about the illegal activities at RRA?
4 A. No.
5 Q. Now, you testified when asked about whether
6 the press -- if you were involved in asking the press
7 to run with the Epstein story, you said something to
8 the effect, "the way I was selling the Ponzi scheme it
9 would be overkill."
10 I didn't understand your answer like you
11 didn't understand some of my questions, so I'd like
12 you to kind of tell me what you meant by that.
13 A. I was selling purportedly confidential
14 settlements. Confidentiality was the hallmark of the
15 Ponzi scheme, so too much publicity would have created
16 a problem for me in the sale of what was supposed to
17 be a completely confidential settlement.
18 Q. I think what you are telling me, and I don't
19 want to misstate what I think you are telling me, but
20 is it true that you felt some publicity would be okay
21 but too much would be counter to the purposes of the
22 conspiracy. Is that a fair statement?
23 A. The way I was thinking about it at the time
24 this was going on was that some publicity would assist
25 in establishing for the potential investors that there
Page 104
1 was a real case going on, but that within that I would
2 have to create some sort of fictions in order to sell
3 the fake product.
4 Q. Okay. At the time that you decided to use
5 the Epstein case as part of your illicit Ponzi scheme
6 theme, I think you testified earlier today, when you
7 were in some dire straights, you needed an influx of
8 money, right?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. That's when you decided to use the Epstein
11 matters, correct?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Okay. And you knew, I assume, being the
14 Ponzi scheme mastermind here, that you needed to make
15 sure that you had at least a working knowledge of the
16 Epstein case so that you could answer questions to the
17 investors. I recognize that you left the room and
18 told them to look at it, but you had to some knowledge
19 of the case, right?
20 MR. SCAROLA: Counsel, that's a
21 misrepresentation of what the earlier testimony was.
22 I object, no proper predicate.
23 MR. GOLDBERGER: Okay, let's go through the
24 whole thing again.
25 MR. SCAROLA: No, you are not going to go
1 was a real case going on, but that within that I would
2 have to create some sort of fictions in order to sell
3 the fake product.
4 Q. Okay. At the time that you decided to use
5 the Epstein case as part of your illicit Ponzi scheme
6 theme, I think you testified earlier today, when you
7 were in some dire straights, you needed an influx of
8 money, right?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. That's when you decided to use the Epstein
11 matters, correct?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Okay. And you knew, I assume, being the
14 Ponzi scheme mastermind here, that you needed to make
15 sure that you had at least a working knowledge of the
16 Epstein case so that you could answer questions to the
17 investors. I recognize that you left the room and
18 told them to look at it, but you had to some knowledge
19 of the case, right?
20 MR. SCAROLA: Counsel, that's a
21 misrepresentation of what the earlier testimony was.
22 I object, no proper predicate.
23 MR. GOLDBERGER: Okay, let's go through the
24 whole thing again.
25 MR. SCAROLA: No, you are not going to go
Page 105
1 through the whole thing again. Just because we have
2 tolerated two lawyers asking questions, does not mean
3 we are going to tolerate two lawyers asking the same
4 questions.
5 MR. GOLDBERGER: Your objection is noted.
6 BY MR. GOLDBERGER:
7 Q. Okay. So let's talk about your need to use
8 the Epstein case to further your conspiracy. You
9 needed an influx of money, did you not?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Okay. You decided to use the Epstein case
12 for that purpose, right?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. And in order to use the Epstein case, you
15 were going to meet with the investors and pitch the
16 Epstein case with the investors, correct?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. And in an effort to pitch the case to the
19 investors, you had to have some knowledge of the case,
20 did you not?
21 A. Some level of knowledge, yes, sir.
22 Q. Okay. And in order to gain that knowledge,
23 you spoke to your co-conspirator, Russell Adler; is
24 that correct?
25 A. That's one of the things I did.
1 through the whole thing again. Just because we have
2 tolerated two lawyers asking questions, does not mean
3 we are going to tolerate two lawyers asking the same
4 questions.
5 MR. GOLDBERGER: Your objection is noted.
6 BY MR. GOLDBERGER:
7 Q. Okay. So let's talk about your need to use
8 the Epstein case to further your conspiracy. You
9 needed an influx of money, did you not?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Okay. You decided to use the Epstein case
12 for that purpose, right?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. And in order to use the Epstein case, you
15 were going to meet with the investors and pitch the
16 Epstein case with the investors, correct?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. And in an effort to pitch the case to the
19 investors, you had to have some knowledge of the case,
20 did you not?
21 A. Some level of knowledge, yes, sir.
22 Q. Okay. And in order to gain that knowledge,
23 you spoke to your co-conspirator, Russell Adler; is
24 that correct?
25 A. That's one of the things I did.
27 (Pages 102 to 105)
FRIEDMAN, LOMBARDI & OLSON
305-371-6677
5ed93085-0554-447f-bcdd-ca2d8fe941df
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017516
FRIEDMAN, LOMBARDI & OLSON
305-371-6677
5ed93085-0554-447f-bcdd-ca2d8fe941df
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017516
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