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May 10, 2007

If You Say So John Edwards, Let's See You Step Up And Lead

"Ultimately, it's up to the people to decide our nation's course. And at crucial moments like this, it's our duty to step up and lead."

Thank you,

-- John Edwards
   May 10, 2007

I agree with what John Edwards says in the above statement.

But on the otherhand avoiding tough questions is NOT a sign of leadership. So why is John Edwards NOT demonstrating the qualities of a leader by avoiding the tough question about his purported endorsement of Forge Consulting? Does John Edwards have something to hide?

The question was asked over 45 days ago by this author in an email to John Edwards and in several conversations with members of his campaign staff and open letters to his camapaign chairman David Bonior and his CFO Frederick Baron.

The facts:

1. According to evidence obtained and published by this author, Forge Consulting, LLC is using a testimonial attributed to Presidential candidate John Edwards in marketing letters to people who represent injury victims and on its corporate website.

2. The manner in which the purported testimonial is being used implies that John Edwards uses Forge Consulting, LLC for structured settlements.

3. According to published sources, John Edwards ceased practicing trial law when he became a Senator, several years before Forge Consulting was founded.

4. The President of Forge Consulting, LLC, John T. Bair of Buffalo New York is a John Edwards fund raiser and, according to published sources, has held events at Forge Consulting, LLC corporate headquarters.

5. The amount of money given by Forge Consulting, LLC principals, and their wives, to John Edwards' campaigns and to Trial Lawyer Associations backing John Edwards is public information.

6. The amount of money given to John Edwards' campaigns by members of the structured settlement industry is also public information. These individuals neither sought nor received endorsements.

7. As a result of the continued use of John Edwards' purported testimonial by Forge Consulting, LLC, the John Edwards name, John Edwards' purported opinion on "professionalism" and John Edwards' "highest recommendation" is associated with:

  • The deliberate execution in August 2006 of a declaration to the United States Department of Justice by John T. Bair , under the federal perjury statute, attesting to 3 years of substantial defense structured settlement services ONLY WEEKS AFTER handing out a brochure to a national meeting of trial lawyers claiming that the firm was "plaintiff exclusive". This  act was the second year running that John T. Bair executed the declaration suimultanously marketing "plaintiff exclusive"
  • The deliberate false and misleading claims by Howard Saperston, III, principal of Forge Consulting, LLC that Forge Consulting is the only plaintiff exclusive company in the country. Note only is that claim false, but Saperston and Forge could not make that statement with knowledge of Bair's declaration.
  • The deliberate execution, in 2005, of a declaration to the United States Department of Justice by Forge Consulting, LLC principals Charles Schell and H.H. Spooner Phillips, IV, under the federal perjury statute,  attesting to 3 years of substantial defense structured settlement services while the firm advertisd its plaintiff exclusivity". This  act was the second year running that John T. Bair executed the declaration suimultanously marketing "plaintiff exclusive"
  • The placement of an advertisement in the Ohio Trial Lawyers Directory for the solicitation of insurance products (annuities) featuring an individual, Charles Schell who according to online records of the Ohio Department of Insurance was unlicensed.
  • The continued advertisement and seduction of trial attorneys using a questionnable interest rate for structured attorney fees using the "professional" combination of descriptive words "equivocated, "guaranteed" and "approximate"  to "justify" the questionnable 15% in the same sentence.

JOHN EDWARDS' UNANSWERED QUESTIONS:

  1. Did Presidential candidate John Edwards endorse Forge Consulting, LLC for structured settlements? If so, when?
  2. Did Presidential candidate John Edwards ever use Forge Consulting, LLC for structured settlements? If so, when?
  3. Does Presidential candidate John Edwards currently use Forge Consulting, LLC for structured settlements?
  4. Does Presidential candidate John Edwards approve the use of his name by Forge Consulting, LLC in solicitations for regulated financial products such as annuities, or any products?
  5. Does John Edwards currently endorse any other products financial or otherwise?

Structured Settlements 4Real has created a John Edwards-Forge Consulting...What's The Truth? meter posted on the lower left of the website. This meter will stay posted until John Edwards answers the questions.

Posted at 03:08 PM in False Advertising Re Creating, Buying or Selling Structured Settlements, Settlement Planning Ethics, Society of Settlement Planners (SSP), Structured Settlement Brokers, Structured Settlements and Politics, US Department of Justice |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2023

  • What is a Structured Settlement? What You Need to Know
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  • How Do Structured Settlements Work? How Structured Settlements Work
    How structured settlements work, including 4structures.com LLC's super helpful structured settlement flow chart/diagram showing how structured settlements fit in on the spectrum of settlement planning solutions.
  • Rated Ages and Structured Settlement Cost
    Rated Ages for Structured Settlement Annuities present advantages to all parties. Shift the mortality risk to a life insurance company whose business it it is to assess mortality risk to price its life insurance and annuities. Rated ages boost your structured settlement annuity benefit per premium dollar, or your yield on lifetime payments. Rated ages help to reduce the cost of funding a Medicare Set Aside arrangement where a Structured MSA, is being used { WCMSA LMSA or NFMSA].
  • Structured Settlement Annuity Companies 2023
    Which life insurance companies issue structured settlement annuities going into 2023? A list of current structured annuity issuers, the location of their home offices and their financial ratings from A.M. Best, Moodys, Fitch, Standard & Poors and/or other Tier1 NAIC ratings, with links to their websites and other useful information.
  • 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.
  • Structured Settlement Annuity Company Customer Service Phone Numbers
    Receiving structured settlement payments from your own structured settlement or inherited structured settlement? You'll like this huge time saver. Click for a comprehensive list of customer service telephone numbers that includes both current AND former structured settlement annuity issuers and reinsurers. If you have simple bank or beneficiary changes, or if the insurance company that issued the structured annuity has merged, sold or spun off its block of structured annuity business (e.g. Aviva, Allstate, Transamerica, AEGON, GE Capital, Liberty, CNA, Confederation Life) or changed its name and you're trying to track them down, here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last updated January 23, 2023.
  • Structured Settlement Quote Lock-Ins | What You Need To Know
    What does a Structured Settlement Lock-In Mean? How do plaintiffs, defendants and insurers benefit from a structured settlement quote lock in when finalizing a settlement? How does the defendant/insurer/court benefit from using a structured settlement lock-in? Where to be careful when using structured settlement lock ins.
  • 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?
    Market based structured settlements are an alternative or supplementary structured settlement solution for the plaintiff, attorney or law firm that: 1. Can afford to take some market risk 2. Have discretionary settlement dollars. Claimants and attorneys alike may find that market-based structured settlements provide the opportunity to receive tax-free income, or tax-deferred income, while enjoying growth potential.
  • iStructure |Uncapped Fixed Index Structured Settlement Annuity
    iStructure is an innovative game changing fixed index structured settlement annuity for plaintiffs or attorneys. with an intermediate to long term horizon

Qualified Settlement Funds

  • What is a Qualified Settlement Fund?
    Qualified Settlement Funds | What You Need to Know
  • Firmwide Qualified Settlement Funds Debunked
    Firmwide qualified settlement funds have been heavily promoted to trial lawyers, but have been debunked in a detailed analysis in a July 2022 legal opinion a tax partner at the law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP. Trial lawyers and firms who have established Firmwide QSFs or coinsidering establishing a Firmwide QSF should read the analysis as part of their evaluation.

Contact Structured Settlement Expert John Darer®

About The Structured Settlement Blog

  • 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 17 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, 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 investigative journalist and commentator, and professionally, John Darer passionately believes that shining the light on 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. If you would like to speak with John he can be reached at (888)325-8640 Thank you for reading! Last updated October 10, 2022

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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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