Former Kentucky Insurance Agent Imprisoned for Ponzi Scheme

A former insurance agent from eastern Kentucky has been sentenced to five years in prison in what federal prosecutors called a Ponzi scheme.

Robert W. Rister of South Shore was also ordered to pay restitution of nearly $400,000. South Shore is about 25 miles northwest of Ashland.

The Independent of Ashland reported the U.S. Attorney’s office said Rister was sentenced Tuesday on his guilty plea, entered in May.

Rister was accused of taking more than $500,000 from clients by selling annuities — then persuading the clients to invest the money in different funds. Authorities say rather than reinvesting his clients’ money, Rister kept it for himself.

Court documents show Rister repaid more than $150,000, but it doesn’t count toward lessening his sentence because that occurred before the scheme was discovered.