Sarasota-Bradenton area insurance agents charged in $6.3M Ponzi scheme

A pair of Sarasota-Bradenton area licensed insurance agents — one who goes by the name the Annuity King on some online ads — have been charged in a $6.3 million Ponzi scheme that allegedly targeted elderly victims to liquidate traditional investments and invest with their company.

Federal authorities unsealed an indictment June 26 charging Phillip Roy Wasserman 63, of Sarasota, and Kenneth Murry Rossman 62, of Bradenton, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, as well as substantive counts of wire fraud and mail fraud. A former lawyer, Wasserman, at one point had insurance offices on Main Street in downtown Sarasota and Professional Parkway in Lakewood Ranch. In addition to being an insurance agent, Rossman, according to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation records, is also a CPA with an office at a residence on 213th Street East in East County, off State Road 70.

The indictment, in addition to the charges, also notifies the defendants the government will seek a money judgment of at least $6.3 million, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office. That’s the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct, the release states.