Alan Sakowitz
Autor von Miles Away... Worlds Apart
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It's guys like Scott Rothstein that give attorneys a bad name. And it's guys like Alan Sakowitz that prove that humanity is, at its heart, good.
I recently finished "Miles Away, Worlds Apart" by Alan Sakowitz, an attorney and real estate investor whose path crossed with Scott Rothstein, an attorney and one time Ponzi scheme artist. Billed by some as a "criminal thriller," I found it to be more of cautionary tale, a combination memoir and homage to the good people in Sakowitz's life compared to the tragic flamboyance that he found in Scott Rothstein.
Sakowitz first met Rothstein when he was invited to participate in an investment in what was billed as "structured settlements," a scheme that would return investment of at least 20 percent, often more, in as short a time as three months. The structured settlements turned out to actually be pre-settlement funding or financing, and the promised return on investment would often be astronomical, even unbelievable. Investors, upon committing to secrecy, were investing large amounts of money and receiving large returns. Rothstein was a respected member of the bar, a partner in a reputable and growing law firm, politically well connected, and philanthropically generous. His sales pitch was convincing, and people were trusting him with their money to the tune of over $1.2 billion dollars.
But, as has been astutely noted elsewhere, "if it's too good to be true, it probably is," and so thought Sakowitz. A veteran real estate investor and attorney, he began to do his due diligence on the scheme, and red flags began to pop up everywhere. The more he researched, the more questionable the investment seemed, and the less the numbers would add up. Finally, he concluded that what was going on had to be illegal, and he called the FBI.
The rest is history. Rothstein fled to Morocco just in front of an FBI warrant to search his law offices, one of a few countries that does not have an extradition treaty to the United States. He returned later, upon pleading from his partners, and turned himself into the FBI to cooperate in their investigation. Disbard for life, he was later sentenced to 50 years in prison, and is serving his time in a federal detention center in Miami.
That's the Rothstein story, but it's not half of the book. What makes Sakowitz's book interesting and worth reading is the dichotomous nature in which he has written it. Instead of weaving a tale about Rothstein's corruption, hubris, and crimes, which he does do, Sakowitz also intersperes the account with anecdotes about the selfless individuals that have added value and meaning to Sakowitz's life. His stories include those of his parents, rabbis, community members, individuals he admires from afar, and others who he has seen selflessly give of themselves to others. It is intended as a contrast to Rothstein's selfishness, and it is an intimate and touching portrait of many of the unsung heroes of our world. All too often we hear and read about the people and egos who thrust themselves into our consciousness in the news and media, and it is refreshing to hear the stories of those who quietly go about doing good without any hope or expectation of reward. Although I do not share Sakowitz's faith, as a person of faith myself, I found much in Sakowitz's book in common with people in my own life, and I was inspired by the thought that there are people out there doing good for good's sake alone.
Scott Rothstein was a selfish fool, and his greed hurt a lot of people. But fortunately, there are good people out there, too and in Sakowitz's account we see a few of them. They are unsung, usually, and only quietly going about doing good. But it is their actions and choices that give me hope that in the end we can choose the good side of our nature--what Sakowitz calls the "right side" of our hearts--over the bad.… (mehr)
I recently finished "Miles Away, Worlds Apart" by Alan Sakowitz, an attorney and real estate investor whose path crossed with Scott Rothstein, an attorney and one time Ponzi scheme artist. Billed by some as a "criminal thriller," I found it to be more of cautionary tale, a combination memoir and homage to the good people in Sakowitz's life compared to the tragic flamboyance that he found in Scott Rothstein.
Sakowitz first met Rothstein when he was invited to participate in an investment in what was billed as "structured settlements," a scheme that would return investment of at least 20 percent, often more, in as short a time as three months. The structured settlements turned out to actually be pre-settlement funding or financing, and the promised return on investment would often be astronomical, even unbelievable. Investors, upon committing to secrecy, were investing large amounts of money and receiving large returns. Rothstein was a respected member of the bar, a partner in a reputable and growing law firm, politically well connected, and philanthropically generous. His sales pitch was convincing, and people were trusting him with their money to the tune of over $1.2 billion dollars.
But, as has been astutely noted elsewhere, "if it's too good to be true, it probably is," and so thought Sakowitz. A veteran real estate investor and attorney, he began to do his due diligence on the scheme, and red flags began to pop up everywhere. The more he researched, the more questionable the investment seemed, and the less the numbers would add up. Finally, he concluded that what was going on had to be illegal, and he called the FBI.
The rest is history. Rothstein fled to Morocco just in front of an FBI warrant to search his law offices, one of a few countries that does not have an extradition treaty to the United States. He returned later, upon pleading from his partners, and turned himself into the FBI to cooperate in their investigation. Disbard for life, he was later sentenced to 50 years in prison, and is serving his time in a federal detention center in Miami.
That's the Rothstein story, but it's not half of the book. What makes Sakowitz's book interesting and worth reading is the dichotomous nature in which he has written it. Instead of weaving a tale about Rothstein's corruption, hubris, and crimes, which he does do, Sakowitz also intersperes the account with anecdotes about the selfless individuals that have added value and meaning to Sakowitz's life. His stories include those of his parents, rabbis, community members, individuals he admires from afar, and others who he has seen selflessly give of themselves to others. It is intended as a contrast to Rothstein's selfishness, and it is an intimate and touching portrait of many of the unsung heroes of our world. All too often we hear and read about the people and egos who thrust themselves into our consciousness in the news and media, and it is refreshing to hear the stories of those who quietly go about doing good without any hope or expectation of reward. Although I do not share Sakowitz's faith, as a person of faith myself, I found much in Sakowitz's book in common with people in my own life, and I was inspired by the thought that there are people out there doing good for good's sake alone.
Scott Rothstein was a selfish fool, and his greed hurt a lot of people. But fortunately, there are good people out there, too and in Sakowitz's account we see a few of them. They are unsung, usually, and only quietly going about doing good. But it is their actions and choices that give me hope that in the end we can choose the good side of our nature--what Sakowitz calls the "right side" of our hearts--over the bad.… (mehr)
The true story of how Rothstein, a prominent Florida attorney, sought out investors - in addition to the psychology around relationships and the ever present Trojan horse in a Ponzi scheme - was absolutely fascinating. Mr. Sakowitz was able to get to the heart of why such schemes often work: prominence in the community and the desire to be part of a 'select few'. With some good old-fashioned common sense and due diligence, Mr. Sakowitz was able to prevent others from seeking returns through Rothstein's house of cards. A good read with praise to those in Mr. Sakowitz's life who are worlds apart.… (mehr)
You know that old adage, “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is”? This book both reinforces and undermines the adage.
It is very true that the investment scheme introduced to author and attorney Alan Sakowitz seemed too good to be true – and it was. The other side of the coin is that the stories he told of people and kindnesses in his community seemed too good to be true but were not – just good people taking care of other people to the best of their ability.
Mr. Sakowitz was introduced to an investment plan run by attorney Scott Rothstein. The dollar amounts involved had a whole lot more zeros on the right than I will ever know – we're talking big bucks here, where figures of several million dollars were discussed as casually as if they were deciding to buy today's Starbucks coffee.
I had to re-read part of the first few pages where the investment plan was first explained. The details are important but so far out of my comfort zone and knowledge base that I struggled a bit.
While deciding whether to invest, Sakowitz kept running into red flags, things that just didn't seem very legitimate to him. He shifted from the viewpoint of deciding whether this was a good investment to how to find if it was truly as illegal as it seemed to becoming a whistleblower. That whole story was fascinating. It was sometimes hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys, and people who had the knowledge to make a proper good decision jumped on the bandwagon anyway. “The Steipler said that once a person makes up his mind, he will not allow the facts to change his decision. A person will simply ignore any facts that disprove or draw into question his decision.” There was a lot of that going on. There was also a lot of buying a “good” reputation.
Interspersed with this story were stories about the good deeds done by people in his Orthodox Jewish community, a community only miles away but worlds apart. Initially, I didn't care for these stories; they seemed a bit like proselytizing to me but I think that is because the author's faith is so much of who he is. There were quotes and examples from his rabbi, several parables. However, as I got used to the author's writing style, I appreciated them. It was as if all the bad things happening in Rothstein's world would remind the author of something good in a saner world. To me, it was like he was telling his Rothstein story and then segueing to a “hey, did I ever tell you about...” story. This book is a good read for anyone who wants to read about some of the kind and generous things people do. And it is a must-read for any investors who want to do the right thing as well as avoid scams.
I received a copy of this book from the author. It was an unsolicited gift, and much appreciated.… (mehr)
It is very true that the investment scheme introduced to author and attorney Alan Sakowitz seemed too good to be true – and it was. The other side of the coin is that the stories he told of people and kindnesses in his community seemed too good to be true but were not – just good people taking care of other people to the best of their ability.
Mr. Sakowitz was introduced to an investment plan run by attorney Scott Rothstein. The dollar amounts involved had a whole lot more zeros on the right than I will ever know – we're talking big bucks here, where figures of several million dollars were discussed as casually as if they were deciding to buy today's Starbucks coffee.
I had to re-read part of the first few pages where the investment plan was first explained. The details are important but so far out of my comfort zone and knowledge base that I struggled a bit.
While deciding whether to invest, Sakowitz kept running into red flags, things that just didn't seem very legitimate to him. He shifted from the viewpoint of deciding whether this was a good investment to how to find if it was truly as illegal as it seemed to becoming a whistleblower. That whole story was fascinating. It was sometimes hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys, and people who had the knowledge to make a proper good decision jumped on the bandwagon anyway. “The Steipler said that once a person makes up his mind, he will not allow the facts to change his decision. A person will simply ignore any facts that disprove or draw into question his decision.” There was a lot of that going on. There was also a lot of buying a “good” reputation.
Interspersed with this story were stories about the good deeds done by people in his Orthodox Jewish community, a community only miles away but worlds apart. Initially, I didn't care for these stories; they seemed a bit like proselytizing to me but I think that is because the author's faith is so much of who he is. There were quotes and examples from his rabbi, several parables. However, as I got used to the author's writing style, I appreciated them. It was as if all the bad things happening in Rothstein's world would remind the author of something good in a saner world. To me, it was like he was telling his Rothstein story and then segueing to a “hey, did I ever tell you about...” story. This book is a good read for anyone who wants to read about some of the kind and generous things people do. And it is a must-read for any investors who want to do the right thing as well as avoid scams.
I received a copy of this book from the author. It was an unsolicited gift, and much appreciated.… (mehr)
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What I liked most about this book, besides the slightly dangerous main storyline (this is actually a non-fiction book) the author tells stories about the lives of the people in his neighborhood-stories that show the good side of human nature. One of my favorite stories is about the author's daughter and how he finds out that she spent a year and a half without her pillow in a kind of tribute to her cancer-stricken teacher. She decided since he was unable to sleep comfortably at night due to the pain he was experiencing, that she would not let herself sleep comfortably. The author/father finds out only after the teacher's cancer is in remission. The entire book is filled with similar stories, much like a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. Even without the side stories, the book was really interesting-Sakowitz does an excellent job of keeping you in the action.… (mehr)