Bye Bye Bova: Another Falls Victim to Rothstein’s Ponzi Scheme

Just because you haven’t seen Scott Rothstein’s name in the papers on a daily basis, doesn’t mean that the fall out from his billion-dollar Ponzi scheme has subsided. In fact, even as he sits in jail, waiting for next month to roll around so that he can find out his fate, he claims more victims. This weekend reports surfaced that Anthony Bova, dubbed a “once leading South Florida restaurateur,” by the Miami Herald, could be preparing to bid a bittersweet adieu to his last namesake dining establishment.

At one point, Tony Bova was living in the lap of luxury with multiple claims to fame in venues like Bova Cucina and Bova Ristorante in Boca Raton, and Bova Prime on Fort Lauderdale’s luxe Las Olas Boulevard strip.

Back in 2008, Rothstein invested 50 percent of his stolen funds into the Bova restaurant brand in Boca, and 100 percent to the Las Olas location. Things went downhill from there, and Rothstein closed Boca Cucina before the men in blue could clank their silver cuffs around his wrists. But once the bars slammed shut on Rothstein, it meant bad news for Bova too, since he would now be losing his biggest, $2 million backer.

On Thursday, April 8, Bova and his wife Laurie filed for bankruptcy, including Bova Ristorante in the filing documents. But as the South Florida Business Journal reports, he is claiming no ownership in Bova Prime. SFBJ indicates that Bova’s attorney, Robert Furr, claims that the South Florida restaurateur is still the president, in name alone, and runs the operations of the establishment, but that the venue is losing money sans support from Rothstein. The bankruptcy filings and the news articles are Bova’s cry for help from any willing investor. The good news is that rent won’t be due until mid-summer.

Sources Miami Herald and SFBJ