Viatical & Life Settlements
                                         consumer information
                                                            

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We do not buy
or sell
viatical contracts

 

 

 

 




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 Back Home Up Next

In sympathy
  with people
from 86 nations
  who lost loved ones
on 9-11

American Benefits Services / Financial Federated

This company did not buy any life insurance policies until they realized they were under investigation. Prior to that, they claimed to be selling viaticated policies but investors actually were paying for the luxuries the principals bought for themselves--real estate, cars, a restaurant, etc.

Events (in chronological order)

bullet Florida orders ABS to cease and desist (6/30/99) *
bullet USA v. Gary Pierce (7/7/99) *
bullet Served with search warrant (7/29/99) *
bullet Ordered to stop selling (8/17/99) *
bullet Viatical broker license to be revoked (8/23/99) *
bulletMissouri serves cease and desist orders on Frederick Brandau of Financial Federated and United Benefits Group
bullet Operating in other states with other names *
bulletWhere the Money Went *
bulletWarning: Financial Federated: fooling investors (7/96) *
bullet The FinFed letter *
bullet Nabbed at the airport (9/99, updated 11/99) *
bullet Scam totals $140 million (9/99) *
bullet ABS Bankruptcy (10/5/99) *
bulletClass action filed in Federal court against ABS sales agents (3/9/00)
bulletBankruptcy Trustee goes after agents' commissions (5/00) *
bulletSEC sues Brandau, Levy, Paine, charging securities violations and fraud (5/9/00) *
bullet Estate planning attorney sued for advice *
bullet The federal trial begins (7/00) *
 
bullet Brandau convicted (8/27/00) *
bulletLevy on the hot seat for another Ponzi (1/31/01)
bulletRaphael "Ray" Levy, owner of ABS, pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit Mail Fraud and conspiracy to commit Money Laundering. (3/21/01)
bulletCheryl Poindexteer sentenced (5/18/01)
bulletBankruptcy trustee begins to distribute liquidated assets July 2001 ($1.4 million available now, at least $8 million in total from the $140 million Ponzi scam). Two thousand investors affected, most of them elderly.
bulletTexas sales agents Keisling and Bertrand plead guilty. Agreement includes restitution to investors and cooperation with authorities. NOTE: Bertrand's bankruptcy will not affect court ordered restitution.
bullet Florida insurance agents, stockbrokers, and financial planners charged with multiple counts of fraud. Here's the list of names. (5/01)
bullet6 more convicted, await sentencing in Palm Beach County Jail: Zane Balsam, attorney Garland Hogan, Gary Pierce, Wanda Tirado, Alan Lewis Juan Arroyo (7/01).
bulletAttorney Jeffrey Paine pleads guilty, sentenced to 5 years in prison, ordered to pay restitution (8/01)
bullet Texas indicts more agents, principals (9/01)
 
bullet Ivan Burgos sentenced (10/5/01)
 
bulletFunds returned to victim-investors: $11.5 million to date shared by 3,445 investors (12/13/01) NOTE: Total amount swindled estimated to be in excess of $117 million.
 
bulletRaphael "Ray" Levy sentenced to 14 years in federal prison, ordered to pay $117 million restitution to the more than 3,000 victims. Sentence began immediately. (11/30/01)
 
bulletSharon J. Hutchinson, Texas: guilty 10 counts of selling securities without being registered. Sales agent for CMI Financial, she sold ABS/FinFed "viatical investments." (12/01)
 
bulletGarland Hogan, attorney, sentenced to 27 years (04/02)
 
bulletFrederick Brandau sues to reduce his 55 year sentence; lawsuit financed with taxpayer dollars (06/02)
 
bullet Investor class action suit filed against Florida Dept. of Insurance (09/02)
 

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(at the behest of companies that consider informed consumers dangerous to their bottom line):
Viatical Litigation: Principles & Practice - the first legal text on the industry
Viatical & Life Settlements: An Investor's Guide
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