Following a Hung Jury, Federal Prosecutors Drop All 34 Criminal Charges

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – Federal prosecutors announced today that that they are dropping all charges against Carlton Fields’ client Steven Stoll, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who was arrested last year in a high-profile mortgage fraud investigation. Stoll was represented by Carlton Fields’ Miami Shareholder Michael L. Pasano and Miami Associate Charles P. Short.

The dismissal of charges comes a month after a five-month federal trial in Fort Lauderdale that ended in a hung jury, split ten to two for acquittal. In that trial, Pasano defended Stoll against allegations made by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the wake of “Operation Copout” — an investigation that targeted a group of police officers accused of engaging in suspicious real estate deals. Stoll was the owner and operator of a mortgage business and title company that employed two brokers who took part in the alleged real estate fraud scheme.

Pasano said Stoll had no idea his employees were falsifying loan applications and is satisfied with the prosecutors’ decision to drop the charges against his client.

“It is with great relief that we heard today that the government has agreed not to re-prosecute and dismiss the case against Mr. Stoll,” Pasano said. “It was a hard fought case, and I applaud the prosecutors for doing the right thing.”

A seasoned trial attorney, Pasano focuses his practice primarily on complex criminal and civil litigation in both federal and state court. He also handles appeals. His areas of concentration include the defense of a wide variety of white collar matters, including fraud and money-laundering; forfeitures; tax issues; FDA, FTC and SEC cases; antitrust and environmental issues; and others. He has represented a wide array of professionals in the corporate arena, including attorneys, doctors, accountants, corporate executives, and other professionals. Pasano worked for seven years in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., and the Southern District of Florida, where he was a member of the major crimes, public corruption, and fraud units, and where he served as Chief of the Broward and West Palm Beach satellite offices. In March 1983, he became Chief of the Miami Fraud Section, and in October of that year he was named Chief of the U.S. Attorney's Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach offices.

Pasano practices in the firm's White Collar Crime & Government Investigations practice group and is the former ABA CJS Chair (2005-2006). He received his J.D. from Yale Law School and his B.A., summa cum laude, from Georgetown University.

Short is a member of the firm’s White Collar Crime & Government Investigations Practice Group. He was a 2008 Carlton Fields Summer Associate in the firm’s Miami office. He was also a Certified Legal Intern for the Office of the State Attorney, Eighth Judicial Circuit in Gainesville. Short received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Florida College of Law where he was Order of the Coif, and his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Central Florida.