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April 21, 2007

An Open Letter to David Bonior and Frederick Baron

Dear Mr. Bonior and Mr. Baron:

I understand that Mr. Bonior is the manager of John Edwards' 2008 campaign and that Mr. Baron is a leading fund raiser. I write to you because there are simple questions concerning Presidential candidate' John Edwards' business relationship with Forge Consulting, LLC, a member of the structured settlement industry, that have not been answered despite numerous emails and the assurances of Kathleen McGlinn, a member of John Edwards 2008 campaign headquarters staff. I also spoke twice to John Pappajohn out of the Boston campaign office.

Avoidance of this question by John Edwards,  and John Edwards 2008, while simultaneously continuing daily money calls along with emails concerning progress of the campaign has, unfortunately, necessitated the escalation of the publicity that this question is getting in our industry ( all of whom are registered voters) and the public.

You see, Mr. Bonior and Mr. Baron,  Forge Consulting, LLC is aggressively using a purported testimonial of John Edwards on its website, and in written solicitation for structured settlement annuity business. Their use is in a manner that implies that John Edwards uses Forge Consulting for structured settlement annuity brokerage when the fact is that John Edwards became a full time Senator years before Forge Consulting, LLC was established. Therefore, the possibility that the Senator actually used Forge Consulting, LLC for structured settlement annuity brokerage appears questionable. Furthermore, the intentional placement of the purported testimonial of John Edwards at the top of a long list of purported testimonials in a "computer accessed communication" appearing on the Forge Consulting, LLC website is clearly designed to capitalize on how the purported endorsement will be perceived by the public.

There are Federal and State rules concerning the use of testimonials in solicitation for financial products by insurance agents and financial advisors. If John Edwards does not use Forge Consulting, LLC for structured settlement annuity brokerage then it is inappropriate for such testimonial to appear in any solicitation for structured settlement annuities. 

Despite the fact that Forge Consulting, LLC claims to work for free, my readers and I are aware of the amount of money Forge Consulting, LLC principals have donated to John Edwards' campaigns and to the DNC. It is public record. We are also aware of the generosity it has shown in hosting political fund raising events for John Edwards at its corporate headquarters at 737 Main Street in Buffalo, NY as have been published in the newspaper. We understand WHY they apparently mean so much to John Edwards' 2008 campaign.

HOWEVER, a candidate who is not afraid to address the issues and doesn't just send you cheery updates about his campaign while foraging for contributions, means alot to registered voters and the type of people that John Edwards used to represent (the type of people that you represent). The questions remain:

  1. DOES JOHN EDWARDS CURRENTLY USE FORGE CONSULTING, LLC FOR STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT ANNUITY BUSINESS?
  2. DID JOHN EDWARDS EVER USE FORGE CONSULTING, LLC FOR STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT ANNUITY BUSINESS?
  3. DID JOHN EDWARDS PERMIT FORGE CONSULTING TO USE HIS PURPORTED TESTIMONIAL IN ANY MANNER OF SOLICITATION?

I would like to wish your candidate good luck as I did a month ago, but I must admit the view is getting jaundiced by the apparent avoidance of the issue. Can we trust John Edwards? Get back to us with the answers and we'll let you know.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Very truly yours,

John Darer

A Public Letter to Senator John Edwards  April 11, 2007

What's The Truth About John Edwards' Endorsement of Forge Consulting? March 31, 2007

Forge Consulting, LLC President John Bair solicitation to Attorneys in New York State Trial Lawyers Association using John Edwards' purported testimonial appears below

Download forge_feb_21_2007_letterny_statejohn_bair.pdf

Posted at 12:14 PM in Buffalo New York Structured Settlements, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, NYSTLA, Settlement Planner Business Practices, Settlement Planning Ethics, Structured Settlements and Politics |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2022

  • What is a Structured Settlement? What You Need to Know
    What you need to know about structured settlements. General explanation of structured settlements, including the stable guaranteed income and favorable tax benefits that give structured settlements their "juice" and a helpful introductory video featuring 2022 A.M. Best Client Recommended structured settlement expert and Registered Settlement Planner John Darer® of 4structures.com® LLC
  • How Do Structured Settlements Work? How Structured Settlements Work | Structured Settlement Diagram
    How structured settlements work, including 4structures.com LLC's super helpful structured settlement flow chart/diagram showing how structured settlements fit in with other settlement planning solutions.
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  • Treasury Funded Structured Settlements
    Treasury Funded Structured Settlements are a settlement option for the most conservative using the OTHER permissible qualified funding asset under IRC 130(d), United States Treasury Bonds in addition to, or instead of, structured settlement annuities. Treasury Funded Structured Settlements can also be used to fund installment sales, also known as structured sales and other non qualified structured settlements.
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    Use the Taxable Equivalent Yield chart to help compare the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of a structured settlement to other alternative or complementary investments. Need help with the chart? Call 4structures.com® LLC at 888-325-8640
  • Structured Settlement Payments | Types of Structured Settlements
    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments. With a structured settlement you can have more than one type of payment in a single contract. Different types of structured settlement payments can be customized and combined to meet your needs on a stand-alone basis, or in conjunction with other financial products. Diversify your structured settlement, if you wish, by funding with more than one annuity issuer, with treasury funded structured settlements, index linked structured settlement payments and market based structured .
  • Structured Attorney Fees for Tax Deferral for Contingency Fees
    Structured attorney fees is a financial strategy that offers a unique way to defer taxes for lawyers and law firms. Lawyers CAN structure their legal fees even if the plaintiff doesn't structure their settlement. There are multiple ways to structure your attorney fees, such as the an index linked structured settlement where payments are adjusted based on upside changes in the S&P 500 with no downside and a cap of 5%. Trial Lawyers may also use a special deferred pay/deferred compensation arrangement, if market based returns returns are desired with no cap. Plan NOW for year end! Put structured attorney fee expert John Darer® on your settlement planning team.
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  • Structured Settlement Quote Lock-Ins | What You Need To Know
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  • What Are Structured Settlement Annuities?
    Structured settlement annuities are annuities that can provide one or more customized annuity payment streams in a single contract. Read about structured settlement annuities here.
  • History of Structured Settlements
    Tracing the roots of structured settlements history from 1918, when Congress exempted damages for personal injury or sickness from income tax, to the establishment of structured settlements as a core personal injury settlement planning tool to the present day.
  • What Are Market Based Structured Settlements?
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  • STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS 4REAL® Blog Is a Popular Source of Structured Settlement News and Information, Settlement Planning News, Tax Deferral and Deferred Income Planning Solutions,
    with a stable readership that seeks credible structured settlement information and/or opinion about topical issues related to settlement planning, targeted to lawyers, injured persons and their family members, guardians, survivors, judges, magistrates, special masters, mediators, administrators, trust companies, insurance company executives and adjusters, financial advisers settlement professionals, financial professionals, insurance regulators, government leaders, federal and state law enforcement, buyers and sellers of structured settlement payment rights, the news media and other interested parties. 4structures.com LLC established the structured settlement blog in 2005 and for over 16 years it has been a leading source for critical commentary. The John Darer authored blog has been among the most prolific, regularly providing fresh structured settlement, settlement planning and litigation recovery management content and commentary. John Darer®, CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT® RSP CLTC, President of Stamford, CT based 4structures.com, LLC, is an experienced New York City area structured settlement expert, structured settlement broker, Certified Financial Transitionist, and Registered Settlement Planner. In his capacity as a journalist, and professionally, Darer passionately believes that exposing a business practice is both healthy and newsworthy. It is in the best interest of tort victims, their families and their legal advisers, that the settlement planning discussion involve those that are properly trained in the topic, properly informed on the topic and, with respect to structured settlements, properly licensed and/or appointed). It has significant instructional and deterrent value to other practitioners and firms as well as those who may be caught in the cross hairs. WHAT YOU GET here is the straight stuff with a touch of irreverence and humor. We hope you enjoy and find the content to be helpful. Subscribe to the structured settlement blog feed, or a specific category feed through your blog reader, or through the Feedburner icon on this page. Followers of JDDarer™ on Twitter may also receive select content. Thank you for reading!

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Structured Settlement Best Practices Corner

  • New York Insurance Advertising law requires the full name of the Insurer to be listed along with the city and state of the principal office. Stating that you represent these fine companies using Insurance company logos without the preceding information are also illegal
  • When it comes to settlement documents it is the ultimate responsibility of the lawyers or claims adjusters who receive input concerning the structured settlement aspects of the documents to actually read the entire document, exercise independent thought and advise their clients properly
  • Be aware that financial advisors use of testimonials is prohibited or restricted
  • Most states require that Testimonials represent the CURRENT opinion of the person who made the testimonial. Be prepared to back it up.
  • Number of States That Prohibit Payment of QSF expenses by licensed agents and brokers
    5 Survey not yet complete.

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