Lawyer Who Clawed Back Scott Rothstein Fraud Money Sued For $19.7 Million By Fraud Victim

 

BY BUDDY NEVINS

 

The lawyer who clawed back money from the Scott Rothstein Ponzi scheme has been sued for the $19.7 million repayment of money allegedly used to pay for the Rothstein cases.

A wealthy investor and founder of a chain of beauty schools Douglas J. Von Allmen, his wife and trustees of his trust have sued Fort Lauderdale lawyer and political powerhouse Bill Scherer, his wife and various businesses.

Contacted at his law firm, Scherer called the allegations false.

“We will fight this to the moon,” he said.

 

Bill Scherer

 

The suit, filed this week, alleges:

  • Von Allmen is owed $19.7 million of $25 million that he loaned Scherer to fund the Rothstein suits.
  • Scherer committed “a flagrant and arrogant disregard for the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct” by borrowing the money from a client in the Rothstein case and drafting his own loan documents.

Von Allmen is asking the court for his money back, plus court costs and interest.

The investor also filed an emergency motion asking a court to place Scherer’s law firm – Conrad Scherer—into receivership to preserve any of the firm’s money that were collateral for the loans.

The heart of Von Allmen’s allegations according to the suit in Broward County Circuit Court are this:

“Bill Scherer and his firm solicited and borrowed $25,000,000 from his client with no apparent intention of ever repaying the vast majority of the loan as $19,700,000 is past due, and they, along with the pack of related obligors Bill Scherer threw into the mix to guaranty the debt, have not made a payment of interest or principal since December 19, 2013.

The genesis of this debt dates back to 2010. At that time, Bill Scherer and Conrad & Scherer solicited Plaintiffs to purportedly fund contingency litigation on behalf of victims of the infamous Scott Rothstein fraud scheme. Many of the documents evidencing this debt were prepared by Conrad & Scherer.  

Despite the size of this loan and the inherent conflicts arising in transactions with clients, neither Bill Schere nor Conrad & Scherer sought or obtained any formal consent to enter into the business transactions with their clients. Additionally, in order to discourage Plaintiffs from filing suit to collect the debt owed to them, Bill Scherer and Conrad & Scherer inappropriately represented to Von Allmen that they were indispensable as counsel in ongoing litigation matters.

Presumably, Conrad & Scherer collected tens of millions of dollars in legal fees since the first loan was funded in 2010, and presumably, Bill Scherer and others were paid substantial compensation from such collections during the same period. Despite these collections, Defendants owe a ridiculous sum of money to Plaintiffs and they refuse to pay. They are in default of their respective obligations owing under the applicable loan documents and Plaintiffs seek relief from this Court to collect the debt.”

 

Scherer’s law firm issued the following news release on Wednesday:

STATEMENT FROM CONRAD & SCHERER

This is a complex business dispute involving relationships and transactions beyond the law firm. We intend to prove in court that any obligations between the parties have been satisfied.

It is disappointing that after unprecedented recoveries for Mr. Von Allman over the past eight years, he has chosen to exploit the attorney/client privilege that he currently enjoys. That said, we are not going to let him defame our founder and our firm. We are currently exploring all legal remedies against Mr. Von Allman including defamation.

Contrary to Mr. Von Allman’s false allegations against the firm, Conrad & Scherer has enjoyed some of its best years in its 40+ year history and will continue to provide high quality legal representation for its valued clients.

Scherer has been one of South Florida’s best known lawyers for over a generation.  A former general counsel to the public hospital system now known as Broward Health, Scherer is also a significant Republican insider who is close to the Gov. Rick Scott. 

 

Bill Scherer talks with Gov. Rick Scott

 

 

 

 

 

 



9 Responses to “Lawyer Who Clawed Back Scott Rothstein Fraud Money Sued For $19.7 Million By Fraud Victim”

  1. City activist Robert Walsh says:

    The grand wizard is behind the 8 ball huh.Wheres the money Bill.Going to defend this case to the moon.I’LL say.Litigate forever will be the stragety im assuming.Atty.Scherer won’t give up that money for all the tea in China.Notice who is given him a hard time a hairdresser instructor.Hmmm..

  2. Snott VV Rothstein says:

    When will Fort Lauderdale Police Department be held accountable for their profiteering in this crime?

    Fort Lauderdale Police command staff & officers received a half a Million dollars, or are bribes not recoverable in clawback?

    Did Rick Maglione delete the database at Fort Lauderdale Police Department again?

  3. Joseph Portuondo says:

    I’m trying to find the case involving Bill Scherer defrauding Mr. Allmen so I can read the complaint

    FROM BUDDY:

    I have a copy, but since it is 222 pages long plus a second filing for an emergency injunction, I don’t want to post it on this site. It is way too big. Sorry.

  4. BAS says:

    What is the case citation for this matter? Looks like some decent reading to relax to. Thx

  5. Fat Boy, Jr. says:

    Fort Lauderdale ….. really all of Broward has devolved into a third world banana republic. The only thing separating Lauderdale from Miami is culture, decent restaurants, good shopping and attractive women.

    FROM BUDDY:

    Miami is the center of South Florida and will remain so. Broward is like the younger brother who hungers to be as good, as big and as well-known as his older brother. It’s not going to happen. It’s never going to happen.

  6. Smart Money says:

    Smart Money is on Mr. Scherer. I am confident he will prevail in this matter.

  7. Barking Dog says:

    The list of people that Scherer has vanquished is long and storied. From lawyers and judges to sheriffs and litigants he has gotten the best of them all for more than 30-years. I agree with Smart Money, Von Allman should go back to counting the millions Scherer recovered for him.

  8. Fraud Liquordale says:

    It’s a common story. The guys been all over the world, but he had to come to South Florida to get ripped off…twice:)

  9. Karma says:

    As all narcissists do Scherer jumped the shark and Karma will bite back.