Bradenton man ran ‘Ponzi scheme’ that defrauded seniors out of millions, feds say
A 62-year-old Bradenton man and a Sarasota man have been indicted on charges they ran a Ponzi scheme that defrauded mostly seniors out of more than $6 million, according to federal prosecutors.
United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announced the latest indictments for Kenneth Murray Rossman of Bradenton and Phillip Roy Wasserman, 63, of Sarasota. The two were initially indicted in June, but a new indictment handed up this week added additional charges.
They are charged with filing false income tax returns and multiple counts of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. If convicted, they face more than 20 years in federal prison. Prosecutors are also are seeking to recover $6.3 million.
Rossman is a certified public accountant who partnered with Wasserman, a former lawyer and licensed insurance agent. Prosecutors say the pair convinced elderly investors to put their money into Wasserman’s new insurance venture called, “FastLife,” which investigators say was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme.
The victims were persuaded to liquidate previous investments and to borrow funds against existing life insurance policies to put into FastLife, according to prosecutors.
The victims were not told about surrender fees and other costs, the government said. Rossman is accused of preparing fake tax returns for the victims designed to conceal those negative impacts from the victims and the government.
Prosecutors say Wasserman paid Rossman a percentage of the victims’ investment dollars in FastLife and other real estate ventures.
The remainder of the investor dollars were used to finance a “lavish lifestyle that included luxury residences, high-end vehicles, jet skis, jewelry, entertainment, gambling, retail shopping, home improvements, personal insurance and many other expenses for his personal benefit and the benefit of his family members,” the indictment states.
The indictment further states that Wasserman took “numerous steps” to evade payment of more than $900,000 in taxes by filing fake individual and corporate tax returns and that Rossman did the same for himself and the victim investors.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rachelle DesVaux Bedke and Colin P. McDonell.
According to the 30-page indictment, federal agents say the scam was a Ponzi scheme where early investors were partially paid out by dollars invested by later investors to make it appear as a successful venture.
According to the investigation, the pair began the scheme around August of 2016.