Apr.29, 2010

One of Scott Rothstein's closest confidantes at his defunct Fort Lauderdale law firm pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a money-laundering conspiracy charge alleging that she helped him engineer his $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.

Debra Villegas, former chief operating officer of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, was granted $250,000 bail by U.S. Magistrate Robin Rosenbaum after prosecutors said she has been assisting them with the investigation into South Florida's biggest financial fraud scheme since it crashed last fall.

Assistant U.S. attorney Lawrence LaVecchio said Villegas has been cooperating ``with no conditions'' and that she has been ``truthful and candid'' not only about her own ``culpability'' in Rothstein's investment racket, but also about others suspected of playing roles in the scam.

Villegas' attorney Robert Stickney said his client, who now lives in Clewiston, is indigent and experiences fainting spells from the pressure of the case.

She also must take care of one of her sons who has psychological problems stemming from her estranged husband being charged with the 2008 murder of Villegas' best friend, Melissa Britt Lewis, a partner in Rothstein's law firm.

Ultimately, Villegas, 42, is expected to change her plea to guilty, according to sources familiar with the case. The charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

She became the first alleged co-conspirator named in Rothstein's investment scam. He pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in January.

Rothstein, 47, allegedly rewarded Villegas -- accused of forging the names of ``fictitious plaintiffs and defendants on the purported confidential settlement agreements'' -- by buying her a house in Weston and a 2009 Maserati GranTurismo coupé. Prosecutors are seeking to seize those assets.