by Structured Settlement Watchdog®
A slew of awful stories of structured settlement annuitants getting financially raped by settlement purchasers in transactions approved by judges that are supposed to
protect them, suggests that annuitants should be vigilant and always seek independent advice from licensed and credentialed financial advisers.
The National Association of Settlement Purchasers (NASP) includes the following misleading answer to Frequently Asked Questions about selling your structured settlement payments.
Q: Is it a bad idea to sell my future structured settlement payments?
Not if you know what you are doing, why you are doing it, and get good advice from a professional. You understand your financial, personal, and family circumstances and situation than anyone else. You have the added security of knowing that a judge will review the transaction and protect you from being taken advantage of.
A sampling of where things have gone terribly wrong for structured settlement annuitants and valid questions arise about the miserable performance of the judges in providing the protection that NASP suggests.
- Cedric Martez Thomas New York native, skunked by Novation Funding LLC, a company that continues to falsely advertise that it pays the maximum payouts, for a more than $1 million profit spread, approved by an Okeechobee Florida judge Gary Sweet in October 29, 2015. Just a terrible awful deal produced by Novation.
- Lauren Ashley Nesbitt Oklahoma native, skunked by Seneca One for a an estimate profit in excess of $1 million approved by Bryan County judge Mark Campbell. Another terrible awful deal for the consumer, produced by Seneca One.
- Terrence Taylor victim of the Portsmouth Virginia circuit three ring circus presided by former Judge Dean Sword Jr that sees 11 sale transactions in 2 years approved. Cover story in Washington Post in December 2015. Currently in litigation.
- T.D., Florida native, young father of two, whose disability rendered him unemployable skunked by a Florida factoring company in cahoots with an investment bank. Fortunately A.D. was referred to a lawyer who negotiated the the transfer order to be vacated and A.D.'s payments were restored. But Indian River Florida judge Cynthia Cox approved the bad deal, doing an incredibly poor job of evaluating the best interest of T.D.
- X, a young New York native, skunked by New York factoring company into placing 2/3 of the net proceeds a suspect investment scheme paying an impossible interest rate. Online research showed that the leader of the factoring company was subject to a FINRA ban. Fortunately X retained a lawyer and negotiated a return of of the $1 million the factoring company "invested". Approved by New York judge.
- Prince George's County Herman Dawson, who approved the lead paint structured settlement factoring deals involving Baltimore inner city minorities, some functionally illiterate, involving sham independent professional advice, that led to a front page Washington Post story, reforms in the state of Maryland and a Maryland Attorney General lawsuit.
There is ALOT more bad news to come out about the structured settlement secondary market in the coming months including more questionable judicial approvals.
Until there is licensing and regulation of sales practices and business conduct as there is with any other financial profession the legitimacy of the settlement purchasing industry will be questioned.
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