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Palm Beach Judge Election | Ostrov Throws Toys Out of Pram After Massive Defeat

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

Structured settlement factoring lawyer Robert Ostrov is a Manchester United fan.   His comprehensive thrashing by Dina Keever early this week in Palm Beach County brings to mind October 5 1999, when  Robert Ostrov's favorite soccer team Manchester United, then reigning English Premier League Champions, was dispatched in similar fashion by Chelsea 5-0, including one own goal. Henning Berg wasn't executed in streets of Manchester that night and at least the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson accepted that his team's goose as cooked by a better team on the day. 

Ostrov "throws Toys Out of Pram" After Defeat in Palm Beach Election

Robert Ostrov claimed in a message to his supporters on Facebook, in which he did not have the class to congratulate his opponent Dina Keever:

"As recently as 30 days ago, I (Ostrov) was behind in the polls by about 1%. But the last 30 days have seen a combination of outrageous voter fraud, phony endorsement mailers and a $40,000.00 television buy/attack ad, purchased two weeks ago, all of which hurt my campaign. I admit (Ostrov) am disappointed - not at having lost, but at being denied a fair chance. The whole reason I wanted to become a judge was because I believe in justice and fair play. The political system as it currently exists is broken. I urge all of you to participate in the process and do whatever you can to effect change'.

Maybe upon reflection, Robert Ostrov will realize that he was no "Eagle Scout", leaving massive omitted gaps on his Linkedin profile wasn't such a brilliant idea since it raised more questions than answers. And then there was lie about discount rates in his Peachtree days. People in glass houses...

But for his sake, there's hope for a better Manchester United season than the last.

 

 

 

 

Lump Sum for Structured Settlement Judicial Candidate Rob Ostrov Continues to Blatantly Deceive Voters

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

Days away from the Palm Beach elections and Robert Ostrov is shameless in his efforts to deceive the voters of Palm Beach County by leaving material facts off his resume. 

If you are a voter in Palm Beach County read Palm Beach Judicial Candidate Ostrov Omits Material Facts on CV Related to His Structured Settlement Past, my August 3, 2016 exposing Robert Ostrov's omissions and lie.

 

South Florida Tabloid Questions Structured Settlement Lawyer Running For Judge

by Structured Settlement Watchdog®

Structured settlement lawyer Robert Ostrov is running for political office again and the South Florida press is all over his case

 "On paper at least, it seems Palm Beach County judge candidate Robert L. Ostrov has rarely seen an industry with a not very judge-like reputation that he hasn’t capitalized on".  Jose Lambiet  Gossip Extra May 2, 2016

Ostrov worked for Settlement Funding LLC (a/k/a Peachtree) in the heady days of  Peachtree's low hanging fruit grabbing

Robert Ostrov "I have refused to do business with (a cash now) company that charges)  30 percent. On my watch, the highest discount fees were in the 20 percent range. That’s what your credit card company probably charges.”  

Ostrov has been peddling that predatory analogy since 2008, when I was forced to listen to it as part of a certification course I was taking that included an education segment on factoring

20% is not a competitive discount on structured settlement factoring transactions. It wasn't in 2008 either. Fortunately discount rates have been forced down, way down.

A competitor of Ostrov's had this to say in July 2008, a year Ostrov also ran for public office (and lost)

'The comparison of discount rates to credit card rates is a bit absurd and seems to be a way for Mr. Ostrov to justify why his or other structured settlement factoring companies charge such high rates. Any company in the industry has the ability to provide rates under 10% (emphasis added). Here is another list of reasons this comparison is absurd:

• Credit card interest rates are determined by an individual’s personal credit score (and other factors)
• Discount rates in factoring transactions are determined by a companies (sic) financial rating (most life companies retaining a A to AAA rating"   Reproduced from this July 8, 2008 post

 I also question whether what Ostrov told Jose Lambiet is true.  During Ostrov's tenure at Peachtree, the Patricia Chambers structured settlement factoring fiasco went down.  Chambers was charged more than double what Lambiet reported that Ostrov said, by Peachtree.  

Read Florida Transfer Disclosure in the Patricia Chambers case Note Section  H  to wit..." you will in effect, be paying interest to us at a rate of 41.73%"   

Even if Ostrov tries to defend himself by saying that the payments were small, if Ostrov really said what Jose Lambiet published,  then Robert Ostrov is a liar.

According to Jose Lambiet, if Ostrov becomes a civil court judge, he will be called on to approve structured settlements (i.e. transfer orders for cash now transactions) and the fees charged by those companies. 

One member of the National Association  of Settlement Purchasers, a former employer of Ostrov's,  has already contributed to Ostrov's campaign. 

 

 

 

Franklin Settlements | Lack of Transparency Hides Bad Actors Associated With Company

by Structured settlement Watchdog®

I stumbled upon the website of Franklin Settlements this morning. and its upsetting to  "my Constitution"

The company, which states that buys structured settlement annuities, lists a toll-free number but no physical address or even a P.O. Box. The About section of the website says nothing about the company or any of its team except for a brief bio of Benjamin Franklin presented alone, as if the company is a descendant of the Founding Father. Is it?

I contacted the company phone number and was met with a respondent who could not tell me where the home office of Franklin Settlements was. She said they had offices in Philadelphia, Florida and Wyoming. A search with the Pennsylvania and Florida Secretaries of State comes up blank for Franklin Settlements LLC. The company does come up on the grid through the Wyoming Secretary of State Download Franklin settlements llc

A press release issued in May 2012 refers to a John Davidson. A John Davidson is also listed as chief marketing officer for Ozark Funding. Ozark Funding also lists a phone number but no physical address. There is just a vague clue that they are from the Midwestern United States and that its 'experienced staff is made up of veteran’s (sic)  from the structured settlement industry".  The privacy policies for both entities list the name of the company and website with no physical address, email or contact information. There is a copyright claim for the generic term ' secondary market annuities' 2012 on Ozark's website. A click on the 'instant call back' button says the mailbox is full.

All in all both Franklin Settlements LLC and Ozark Funding LLC raise the eyebrow for the utter lack of consumer critical information that is the scourge of the structured settlement secondary market. A consumer should not have to go to such lengths to get basic information and to find out who they are dealing with.

"Frankly", if company that wants your business lacks basic transparency I'd tell them to "go fly a kite!

Postscript

Subsequent to this post, we discovered that Franklin Settlements was associated with Owings MIlls MD natives Richart Ruddie and Ryan Blank at the time Einstein Structured Settlements was launched in 2012 as well as Wellington Florida lawyer Robert Ostrov. At the time Franklin website was published Ruddie was being sued for Deceptive Trade Practices.  It was later discovered that Ruddie associated companies utilized paid fake testimonials and other deceptive practices in connection with structured settlement websites. A controversy that emerged in 2016 involved Ruddie's association with phony lawsuits [ see Richart Ruddie Companies Sent Forged Papers to Rhode Island Federal Court]. In January 2018, the Ruddie's and Blank's fraudulent business activity caught up with them as their companies were banned from doing business in Maryland for 7 years after an investigation by the Maryland Attorney General's office.

 

Will Palm Beach County Voters Elect Counsel For "Financial Crack" Dealer?

With less than 10 days to go before the election the question is whether Palm Beach county voting lawyers will vote for incumbent Adam Hasner, a Republican,  or Democrat Robert Ostrov, whose Florida job experience has consisted of two legal gigs with "cash now pusher" and false advertiser Peachtree Settlement Funding and "cash now pusher" Structured Asset Funding (a/k/a 123 Lump Sum, 123 Lump Dumb).

Most towns want to rid their street corners of "dealers". Why not Palm Beach County home to the greatest cluster of "financial crack dealers" in the United States? Just because dealing it doesn't carry a prison sentence doesn't mean it's any less lethal, financially speaking.

Florida Justice Association Members- Say NO to Robert Ostrov

by Structured Settlement Watchdog®

In my post Poverty Pimp Running For Florida Legislature the Palm Beach County (District 87) candidacy of Robert Ostrov  is the deserved object of scrutiny. The primary is Tuesday August 26, 2008. 

Robert L. Ostrov

Why should a seemingly obscure race for state legislature be of interest to the structured settlement industry, to settlement planners, trial lawyers and others with an interest in tort victims?

1. Ostrov was the in house counsel at Peachtree Settlement Funding when FLORIDA CITIZEN Patricia Chambers was jacked for 41.73% effective discount on the transfer of her periodic payments in March 2007.
2. Under Ostrov's watch Peachtree Settlement Funding falsely advertised that a consumer could get " all of your money now " (for selling structured settlements).
3. Ostrov now works for Structured Asset Funding (a/k/a 123 Lump Sum) who promote the "sensibility" of selling structured settlement payments to buy a Ferrari or boat

What does the above say about the morals of Robert Ostrov? Ostrov should be asked to justify why UNDER HIS WATCH , as the legal officer of Peachtree Settlement Funding, he allowed the lie that is embodied in the ad referenced in #2 to be used in solicitation to the public

The opportunism off the backs of tort victims, highlighted by Ostrov's absurd justification (in a presentation recorded earlier this summer) of the high discount rates charged by certain cash now pusher factoring companies , such as his former employer Peachtree Settlement Funding, is another reason not to trust Ostrov.

In my opinion Robert Ostrov in the Florida state legislature would be a disaster. Why give the "cash now pushers" a voice in the state legislature?

Florida Justice Association members face a dilemma. As traditional supporters of Democrats, do they support (or even endorse) Ostrov if he wins the primary, in the November elections against the Republican incumbent? If they do support Robert Ostrov, will their role as plaintiff advocates smack of hypocrisy? FEC disclosures will eventually expose the hypocrisy wherever it exists.

"Poverty Pimp Is Running For Florida Legislature"

by Structured Settlement Watchdog®

Feelings about Democrat Robert Ostrov's run for the Florida legislature in State District 87 are running strong. This morning,  one of our Florida readers, having read my previous post on Mr. Ostrov's absurd justification for ridiculously high structured settlement factoring discount rates, emails me (see below link) and correctly points out that Ostrov, "the man who wants to be in our legislature, was there (at Peachtree Settlement Funding) at the time of the Patricia Chambers disgrace". Ostrov is characterized as "this poverty pimp" in the email.

The reader believes, and it is plausible, that Ostrov's run for the Florida legislature "
is a blatant attempt by the factoring industry (he mis characterizes as structured settlement industry) to put someone in the legislature who is at their beck and call". It is notable that a significant cluster of factoring companies are based in Palm Beach county.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel's Mark Hollis should pay attention to the fact that from March 2006- October 2007, Ostrov was Senior Counsel and Manager of Peachtree Settlement Funding, supervising a group of attorneys and support staff responsible for directing litigation on behalf of the company.

I am not a Florida resident, but Florida voters in the August 26th primary (or the November elections if Ostrov makes it past the primary), particularly trial lawyers in the state and members of the Florida Justice Association should think long and hard about supporting or electing someone, whose ethics include working for a "cash now pusher" and whose company encourages gullible tort victims to trade long term financial security for a discounted amount of cash to purchase depreciating assets like a Ferrari or boat, or to take a vacation.

Copy of Email Regarding Robert Ostrov of August 13, 2008 Download email_re_ostrov_08132008.pdf

Competitor Attacks Robert Ostrov's Absurd Justification of High Structured Settlement Discount Rates

Peachtree Settlement Funding | There's New Fuzz on the Peachtree

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

The Benaim* and Meyer** orchards of Boynton Beach, Florida have have gathered new fuzz. The Peachtree Settlement Funding spin meisters boldly tell us about the addition of a former Orange County (NY) assistant district attorney to its "branches", as if this action will give the company, and by extension the cash flow or factoring industry, enhanced credibility as it relates to the purchase or sale of structured settlement payment rights. Two things jump out at me.

(1)With all due respect to Mr. Ostrov, we wish him well, as we would wish well the hundreds and hundreds of assistant district attorneys in the State of New York.

(2)Benaim's statement about Ostrov being hired to help to continue success with "court ordered purchases of structured settlement payments" suggest a new variant to a well known proverb "a rolling peach gathers lots of fuzz" by seemingly suggesting the court orders the purchase of structured settlement payments. This is inaccurate.

Pursuant to New York's Structured Settlement Protection Act  (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law §§ 5-1701-1709), and in accordance with IRC Section 5891, a Court must approve the purchase/transfer of structured settlement payment rights or the transaction is subject to a 40% excise tax.

* VP at Peachtree

** PR Director at Peachtree