Investor's Watchdog.com: Stock, finance and investment protection for investors

To all appearances, Scott Rothstein was a successful Ft. Lauderdale attorney, senior partner of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt, Adler, husband to a beautiful wife, a man who enjoyed the best of everything.  As so often happens, things were not as they seemed.  Prosecutors have charged Rothstein with running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.  SunSentinel.com has been covering the story.  Here is a link to a site on which you can read the history of the case and keep up with breaking developments.Rothstein’s case reminds us of something that every investor must keep in mind if he or she is interested in protecting a nest egg:  Even professionals engage in fraudulent conduct.  A license to practice law or work as a CPA is absolutely no guarantee that an investment is legitimate.

Investor thinking often goes like this.  Attorneys have to study for three years after college and pass the Bar exam to get their license.  If they are involved in fraud, they will lose the license that it took them so long and so much work to earn.  Therefore, no one with a license to practice law would put that license in jeopardy by engaging in fraud.

If humans were completely rational creatures, that logic would be valid.  Unfortunately, not one of us is completely rational.  We are self-centered creatures by nature and that nature leads us to engage in all manner of irrationality.

Never make the mistake of believing that position, possessions, or reputation are fool-proof indicators of trustworthiness.  To protect what you have worked so hard to save, you must hire private protection, someone who looks behind the curtain and can make sense of what he sees there.