Local Man Gets 18 Years In $4M Ponzi Scheme
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A Sacramento man has been sentenced to 18 years in state prison after pleading guilty to charges that he ran a Ponzi scheme that defrauded mostly elderly investors of more then $4 million.
The state attorney general's office says a Sacramento County Superior Court judge on Friday ordered William Sassman II to pay $4.5 million in restitution to 48 victims.
Prosecutors say no money has been found, so victims are unlikely to be repaid.
They say Sassman, age 42, spent investors' money on expensive cars including two Ferraris, three homes and his own illegal investments.
He wrote a book, "Secrets of a Worry Free Retirement," that helped persuade investors to let him invest their life savings. He initially used money from new investors to repay previous investors.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
