‘Annuity King’ has ‘zero doubt’ of acquittal on annuity fraud charges

The ongoing criminal case pitting the government against the self-titled "Annuity King" could finally go to trial this spring.

Federal authorities allege that Phillip Wasserman, 65, scammed $6.3 million from fraudulent annuity sales and tax evasion. Wasserman faces up to 20 years in prison.

A Florida federal judge delayed Wasserman's trial date several times as the defendant filed voluminous court briefs. Indicted in June 2020, the Wasserman criminal docket is up to 666 entries. The most recent entry, posted Tuesday morning, confirmed an April 3 trial date.

Reached Tuesday, Wasserman remained defiant. He disputed the government's characterization of his financial dealings and promised to release a forensic CPA audit in early February.

"The government's case is an absolute witch hunt and I have zero doubt that I will be acquitted," he said via email.

FastLife sales questioned

The government claims Wasserman's insurance venture called FastLife convinced elderly investors to liquidate traditional investments, and to borrow funds against their life insurance policies, to generate cash to put into the new business.

Those investors were not told about surrender fees and other costs associated with the liquidations, court documents say. Wasserman used investors' money to make payments to earlier investors in the FastLife venture, as well to as victim-investors in his earlier hedge fund and real estate fund ventures, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa said.

In court documents, prosecutors allege that Wasserman used some of the investors’ money to fund a lavish lifestyle that included luxury residences, high-end vehicles, jet skis, jewelry, entertainment, gambling, retail shopping, home improvements, personal insurance and other expenses.

"They didn’t interview a single person who bought life insurance or applied for life insurance from Fastlife," Wasserman said.

The defendant prevailed on one issue last week when the judge granted Wasserman $25,000 to hire "an independent accounting firm to review FastLife’s financial records and the records of various financial institutions and determine where the investor money was spent and present such findings to the jury."

Plea deal reached

In July 2021, Kenneth Murry Rossman, 63, Wasserman's co-defendant, accepted a plea deal.

According to court documents, Rossman pleaded guilty to one count of  conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, and one count of "aiding and assisting the preparation and filing of fraud and false tax returns." The two counts carry a maximum of eight years behind bars.

In exchange for the plea, Rossman "agrees to cooperate fully" with the government "in the investigation and prosecution of other persons, and to testify," court documents read.

An initial indictment unsealed in June 2020 charged Wasserman and Rossman with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, as well as substantive counts of wire fraud and mail fraud. A superseding indictment in November 2020 tacked on charges of filing false income tax returns to the wire fraud and mail fraud charges.

Wasserman has operated investment businesses in the Sarasota, Fla., area for years under various names, including Phillip Roy Financial Consultants and Phillip Roy Financial Services. He has held investment seminars about annuities and life insurance attended by thousands of Florida seniors, styling himself as "The Annuity King" in some advertising.

Rossman, a certified public accountant and licensed insurance agent, solicited investors and prepared tax returns that concealed negative tax information from both the investors and the Internal Revenue Service, prosecutors said.

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at john.hilton@innfeedback.com. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at john.hilton@innfeedback.com. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.