by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Steve Pasko's company has been hoovering up other buyers of structured settlement payment rights but hasn't got rid of their dirty laundry.
Annuity.org, has existed for the benefit of CBC Settlement Funding, since late 2017 a "bauble" of Sutton Park Capital CEO Steve Pasko's 600 Partners LLC. It is part of the cottage industry that misrepresents structured settlement payment rights as annuities.
Reckless misrepresentation #1 by Annuity.org, which pimps leads for CBC Settlement Funding
"These annuities are also said to carry a lower risk that the company selling the annuity will default on payments".
- A "Secondary Market Annuity" is not an annuity
- Ask Mr & Mrs. Wall and Barry Cooper about "secondary market annuities" and what happened to their $150,000 investments (speaking to the general statement, CBC did not sell the investments to either of these people). Ask how many tens of thousands the Walls have had to spend to bring their case and pay for the appeal. All they did was buy what they were told was an annuity...but it wasn't.
- The 2017 revisions to the Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Model Act (#520) expressly exclude protections for structured settlement investors and provide for a retroactive exclusion that would affect structured settlement investors who acquired structured settlement payment rights in the secondary or tertiary structured settlement market prior to the effective date of the adoption of the revisons. According to the NAIC, 34 states have adopted the 2017 revisions as of March 11 2022. These states include AK, AR, AZ, CT, DE, FL, IA, ID, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, ME, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NV, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, and WY. Two more states, Washington and Rhode Island, were under consideration at the time of posting. (Updated)
Reckless misrepresentation #2 by Annuity.org
"If you buy one of these annuities previously owned by someone else — also known as a factored structured settlement — you may get a better deal and higher interest returns than if you buy an annuity on the primary market".
- In the secondary market you are not buying an annuity, you are buying structured settlement paymnet rights, a derivative. Big difference in terms of regulation (or lack thereof, in terms of secondary market) and risk characteristics.
- Structured settlement annuities are neither bought nor sold by annuitants and neither bought nor sold by CBC Settlement Funding. How could Annuity.org get it so wrong? If you want to know just read this blog.
Reckless misrepresentation #3 by Annuity.org
"But the transaction is more complicated, partly because it has to be approved by a judge and clear state regulatory approvals because the original annuity is considered a binding contract. These transactions involve a lot of paperwork"
The "Secondary Market annuity" transaction is complicated an dthe approval of a judge does not necessarily make it more safe as the Wall retirees discovered after they were the victims of a fraud perpetuated by a forgery that wasn't discovered until a few years after their investment. The forgery was at the origination level and the payments rights were first acquired by an intermediary before they were sold to the Walls. In a damning indictment of those that use the term “secondary market annuity" to peddle structured settlement derivatives the Walls sued the originator and lost and sued the intermediary and won a summary judgment that was overturned on appeal. The Walls spent tens of thousands of dollars on top of almost $153,000 invested. While there's still a possibility of recovering for unjust enrichment the optics for scam labeled "secondary market annuities" have taken a big hit.
Another Pasko company "bauble" involved in outrageous and misleading marketing
In July 2018, the Pasko company "bauble" was the intended beneficiary of an outrageous and wholly misleading marketing approach to structured settlement annuitants, which misrepresented a 100% chance of money losing pennies on the dollar value proposition as a "prize". "Keep Your Eye on the Prize" was used as the catchpenny in their ad.
Will Love Prevail?
Fred Love of Sutton Park Capital LLC is the new President of the National Association of Settlement Purchasers. One hopes that "Love will prevail" over the wayward "baubles". It certainly doesn't flatter his organization at the moment.
Last updated April12, 2022
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