A former boyfriend of Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein's estranged wife testified Thursday about helping her secretly sell diamonds intended for federal marshals.

Michael Thomas acknowledged selling the diamonds to a Sarasota jeweler to help out Kim Rothstein, who he was dating at the time in 2012. Rothstein, who insisted she owned the jewelry, paid him a $40,000 commission on the sale of loose diamonds broken up from a necklace and $10,000 for the sale of a single choice diamond, Thomas testified.

Jeweler Kareem Suwaity is being sued for more than $500,000 for handling the sales long after the jewels should have been surrendered to the federal government to help repay the victims of Scott Rothstein's $1.2 billion fraud.