Scott Rothstein’s uncle pleads guilty to fraud in $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme

Scott Rothstein’s uncle, the co-conspirator closest to the convicted Ponzi schemer, pleaded guilty Wednesday to helping his nephew carry out a $1.2 billion investment racket.

William “Bill” Boockvor was at the disgraced Fort Lauderdale lawyer’s side during his wild four-year ride fleecing investors from Florida to New York, until the scam unraveled in fall 2009.

Boockvor, 66, of Deerfield Beach, faces up to five years in prison for wire-fraud conspiracy at his sentencing tentatively set for May 7 before Senior U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley in West Palm Beach.

In December, Boockvor was accused of plotting with Rothstein to falsify his now-defunct law firm’s trust account records at Toronto Dominion Bank. The goal: to induce investors to buy bogus legal settlements. The investors collectively lost more than $350 million.

Boockvor handled accounting, banking and other tasks for his nephew at the 70-attorney Fort Lauderdale firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler.

The case against Rothstein’s uncle brings the total number of employees and others prosecuted in the massive scheme to eight, including Rothstein, 49. He is serving a 50-year sentence on racketeering conspiracy charges.

In coming months, a larger group of suspects, including some lawyers from the former firm, are expected to be indicted as part of the conspiracy.

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