TALLAHASSEE— Longtime Coral Gables attorney Mark S. Scott faces indefinite suspension following a Feb. 3 Florida Supreme Court order after he was found guilty in New York last year on money laundering and bank fraud charges, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
In its two-page order, the state Supreme Court suspended Scott from practicing law in Florida. Scott's suspension will be effective 30 days from the date of the court's order to allow him time to close out his practice and protect his existing clients' interests, according to the high court's order.
The Florida Bar announced Scott's suspension and the Supreme Court's order on Feb. 27. Scott has petitioned the court to be voluntarily and permanently disbarred.
Scott was admitted to the bar in Florida on July 27, 1998, according to his profile at the state bar website. No prior discipline before the state bar is listed on Scott's state bar profile.
Scott's suspension comes months after his conviction in U.S. Distict Court for New York's Southern District after a three-week trial of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, according to a Nov. 21 U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) news release.
Scott, 51 at the time of his conviction, allegedly ran a fake investment fund through OneCoin Ltd. and laundered $400 million as part of an international pyramid scheme on the cryptocurrency OneCoin.
"OneCoin is a massive pyramid fraud scheme," the DOJ news release said. "OneCoin Ltd. was co-founded in or about 2014 by Ruja Ignatova, and is based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Scott was introduced to Ignatova in late 2015, and began laundering OneCoin fraud proceeds in 2016. Ignatova served as OneCoin’s top leader until her disappearance from public view, in or about October 2017."
Scott, a former Locke Lord LLP equity partner, is alleged to have made more than $50 million from the scheme and to have bought expensive watches, a Ferrari and several Porsches, a yacht and three multimillion-dollar New England seaside homes.
Scott was arrested near one of those seaside homes in Barnstable, Massachusetts in September 2018.
His sentencing is scheduled in April. Scott's money laundering conviction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison while his conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
Scott's attorney said Scott will appeal the convictions.