by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Investors Fighting to Get Back Money They Paid to Sellers For Structured Settlement Payment Rights
In 2001 Brooklyn New York residents Michael Okebiyi and Shirmine Okebiyi settled a medical malpractice lawsuit as parents and natural guardians of their infant son, Nicholas Okebiyi. Part of the settlement was structured with an annuity issued by Hartford Life Insurance Company as the qualified funding asset. The terms of the annuity provided for periodic payments of $6,769.89 per month, from July 16, 2014 to and including June 16, 2056, with payments increasing at 4% per year.
On September 13, 2013, the Okebiyi's entered into a structured settlement annuity sale and assignment agreement with Freedom Financial Services LLC in which they agreed to sell 84 monthly payments of $6,769.89, with an annual increases of 2% per year. , starting July 16, 2014 through and including June 16, 2021 {" Assigned Payments". In exchange the Okebiyis were to receive $402,753.10 in a lump sum.
Freedom Financial Solutions, LLC is a structured settlement factoring company based in Hypoluxo Florida/Boynton Beach and managed by John K Woods, according its most recent annual report filed with and published by the Florida Secretary of State at sunbiz.org
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Side Bar It is the structured settlement payment rights that are sold or transferred not the annuity itself
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Freedom Financial acted as a broker/originator on the transaction and asked Somerset Wealth Strategies, LLC, an Oregon company offering wealth management and retirement planning services to locate investors to fund acquisition of the Assigned Payments upon securing a qualified court order pursuant to New York G.O.L. 5-1701 et seq. As readers know, at the time Somerset also ran a number of websites marketing factored structured settlement payments streams such as " SecondaryMarketAnnuities.com"
Somerset arranged for certain clients, namely Dennis Deiasi and Ann Marie Diasi, acouple from Florida and Brian Greig and Patricia Greig, a couple from California, to purchase the Assigned Payments. In anticipation of buying the Assigned Payments, these Somerset clients wired money to their escrow agent Anne E. Sety-Rosevear.
Freedom Financial and the Okebiyis filed a petition by Order to Show Cause in the New York State Supreme Court County of Kings, seeking approval of the transfer of structured settlement payment rights. On February 28, 2014 the transfer was approved by Order of Justice Bernadette F. Bayne and the Assigned Payments were assigned to the clients of Somerset. Payments were serviced by Allied Servicing Corporation which in turn split the payments between the respective assignees.
On February 6, 2015, Okekbyis entered into a new structured settlement annuity sale and assignment agreement with Freedom Financial where thet agreed to sell an aggregate of $2,140,611.96 of periodic payments to Freedom Financial.
A new petition by order to show cause was filed in Kings County Supreme Court by Nicholas' father Michael Okebiyi bearing index 501670/2015, whereupon the Petiton was heard by Justice Debra Silber. Judge Silber denied the 2015 petition on April 30, 2015 because the Michael Okebiyi did not have standing without a Court appointing him as guardian of Nicholas.
Investors Get Shafted on "Silber Platter"
On November 9, 2015, Justice Silber, stepped in in loco parentis and recalled her April 30, 2015 and on November 9, 2015 issued an Amended Order and Restraining Order. Despite the Assigned Payments from the 2014 Order having NOTHING to do with the April 30, 2015 Order, the investors Dennis Deiasi, Ann Marie Diasi, Brian Greig and Patricia Greig have not received ANY payments they bargained for beginning December 16, 2015 and ongoing to today. At the time the current suit was filed investors were out $389,148.87 and at the time of this writing the number is over $400,000. And the aforementioned payees are due payments through June 16, 2021.
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Sidebar " Surely You Can't Be Serious"
In the November 9th Amended Order and Restrating Order Judge Silber referred to Freedom Financial Solutions LLC as "vectoring company" , inspiring the late renowned aviator Clarence Oveur to roll over in his grave muttering "What's your vector Victor, I mean Silber?", but that's not important right now...
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Despite having knowledge of the Restraining Order, and despite having received the Purchase Price contemplated by the 2013 Purchase and sale ratified in the February 28, 2014 Order, the Okebiyis have not returned the funds to the investors and have instead retained the full $402,653.10 even though the Assigned Payments have ceased since the issuance of the Restraining Order in 2015.
The investors subsequently filed suit in the Supreme Court State of New York County of Kings in a matter captioned Dennis Deiasi, Ann Marie Diasi, Brian Greig and Patricia Greig, Plaintiffs v Michael Okebiyi and Shirmine Okebiyi, Defendants 519239/.
The investors allege
Unjust Enrichment and Conversion with damages accruing on $286,213.71 alleged at the time the Complaint was filed February 11, 2020. The investors have had to incur attorney fees and costs
Where it stands now
A stipulation to extend the time Covid-19 related delays extends the Defendants' response until June 30, 2020. See Dennis Deiasi, Ann Marie Diasi, Brian Greig and Patricia Greig, Plaintiffs v Michael Okebiyi and Shirmine Okebiyi, Defendants 519239/2019
Somerset Wealth Strategies also seeks to recover the $101,354.92 commission retained by Freedom Financial Solutions as part of the 2013 structured settlement transfer for breach of implied contract and unjust enrichment alleging that the 2015 Petition was the cause of the disruption of the Assigned Payments to Somerset's clients.
Yet Another Example of Why Factored Settlement Payment Streams Are Not Annuities
This type of stuff just doesn't happen when you buy a regular annuity. Factored structured settlements carry more risk than a legitimate annuity. Think about it, you invest money in an investment in 2014, you receive the payments for a period of time, money that you are counting on and then the payments stop in December 2015 and you haven't been paid since. to the tune of hundreds of thousands.
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