Four of Scott Rothstein’s ex-colleagues face fraud charges in the widening federal investigation into the convicted lawyer’s $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.

The cast of characters accused of supporting convicted con artist Scott Rothstein with his $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme expanded Friday, when prosecutors brought charges against a lawyer, two computer experts and a former nightclub owner.

All four Broward County men face one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud linked to Rothstein’s racket of selling phony legal settlements, which unraveled over Halloween weekend 2009.

The disbarred Fort Lauderdale lawyer’s massive investment scam sparked a wider investigation and shocked dozens of colleagues, investors, politicians and society friends who had flocked to the flashy Rothstein and his law firm before his sensational fall.

“The house of cards supporting Scott Rothstein’s elaborate Ponzi scheme continues to crumble,” U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said.

“One thing is clear, Rothstein was able to deceive investors because of the participation by others,” said John Gillies, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami office.

The latest defendants in South Florida’s largest financial fraud are:

•  Attorney Howard Kusnick, 58, of Tamarac. Kusnick, who had worked with Rothstein for years, is accused of writing a letter for him that the ringleader used as part of a ruse to defraud two wealthy clients. Kusnick allegedly assisted his boss in a civil case in which Rothstein swindled car dealer Ed Morse and his wife out of $57 million, resulting from a legal dispute over construction of the couple’s home in Boca Raton.

•  Former information technology specialists at Rothstein’s law firm, William Corte, of Plantation, and Curtis Renie, of Fort Lauderdale, both 38. They are charged with forging a bank’s web site purporting to show hundreds of millions of dollars in the Rothstein law firm’s client trust accounts to induce wealthy investors into buying bogus legal settlements.

The pair, paid $5,000 for creating the fictitious web site, allegedly falsified balances of $20 million and $60 million in two accounts at Rothstein’s request. The firm’s web site was copied from actual financial statements it had with Toronto-Dominion Bank in Fort Lauderdale.

•  Stephen Caputi, 53, of Lauderhill, former owner of Cafe Iguana in Pembroke Pines. He is accused of posing as a banker and plaintiff during some of Rothstein’s sales pitches to potential investors. Caputi, who was Rothstein’s partner in the club, allegedly posed as a TD Bank customer service representative when they met with potential investors at a bank branch in Weston. Caputi also allegedly posed as a plaintiff who had obtained a $10 million settlement, which Rothstein sold to investors for $5 million.

Caputi and Corte surrendered and made their first court appearances before a magistrate judge Friday, pleading not guilty. Each was released on a $100,000 personal surety bond.

Caputi’s lawyer, Hy Shapiro, declined to comment.

Corte’s lawyer, Alvin Entin, said his client had no knowledge of Rothstein’s Ponzi scheme, saying he and his colleague, Renie, “didn’t know what was the purpose of duplicating the web site or fudging the bank accounts. Rothstein asked them to do it, and they didn’t ask what it was for.”

Renie and Kusnick are expected to surrender on Tuesday.

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