by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Ryan Blank Entities Banned for 7 Years and Made to Pay in MD in 2018. Now This in SC in 2024
"Ryan Blank and his (3 Delaware LLC) entities, agreed to pay $700,000 as part of the settlement, while SuttonPark Capital, the Florida firm that was set to receive (the Badger) girls’ future payments, agreed to fully reinstate the structured settlements.
Neither Blank, nor SuttonPark responded to requests for comment", according to McClatchy's David Weissman in an article published September 25, 2024 in the Myrtle Beach Sun News. Weissman was the author of the 4 part "ripped the cover of the ball" syndicated expose for McClatchy published in September 2022, that led to a major overhaul of how structured settlement factoring is regulated in South Carolina. In my opinion, South Carolina now has one of the strongest structured settlement protection acts in the United States.
Read coverage of the Arthur Badger family story below
Read Complaint Against Guardian Ad Litem, IPA and Cites Ryan Blank, SuttonPark and His Entities
Download Copy of Allendale SC Court of Common Pleas v GAL IPA citing Ryan Blank entities.
Ryan Blank is first mentioned in paragraph 13 of the Complaint.
The Complaint cites the following as "Consipirators" entities associated with Ryan Blank
Berkman First Funding, Pitchberg Funding and Sutton Park Structured Settlements and SC lawyer Richard Steadman and his law firm
Ryan Blank paid to Bring Victim Arthur Badger to Washington DC to Induce a Sale of Minors' Structured Settlement Payments for Pennies on the Dollar
According to Weissman's latest report, Ryan Blank paid to bring Arthur Badger Jr. to Washington D.C. and “lavishly entertained” him as part of an effort to convince him to sell him his minor daughters’ structured settlement payments, worth millions, for pennies on the dollar. Weissman's story includes a picture of Blank with the Badger from the Badger's DC trip
SC Lawyer Richard Steadman's Law Firm Agreed to Pay for Role in The Factoring of Badger MInors' Structures
According to Weissman's published report, "North Charleston attorney Richard Steadman, who represented the factoring companies involved in the factoring deals, and his law firm agreed to pay $250,000 in the settlement" Bankruptcy Attorney Richard Steadman | Charleston, SC | Debt Relief Firm (steadmanlawfirm.com)
SC Lawyer Taylor Peace and His Firm Agreed to Pay for the Conflict of Interest Associated With Independent Professional Advice
"Chapin attorney Taylor Peace and his firm agreed to pay $650,000. Peace submitted a letter to the court filed in some of girls’ transactions stating that he gave independent advice to Arthur Badger concerning the deals. Peace, who clerked for Steadman while he was in law school, was paid by Steadman for this work, a conflict of interest since he was supposed to be acting on behalf of the Badgers" the complaint alleged". Taylor Peace, Attorney - Harrell, Martin & Peace, PA (harrellmartinpeace.com)
SC Lawyer Martin Harvey who Served as Guardian Ad Litem for the Last Transactions and His Firm Agreed to Pay $700,000.00
"Harvey reported his opinion to the court that the deals were in the minors’ best interests to help move them into a safer home in a more desirable neighborhood.. But the girls continued to live in the same home, which Harvey admitted he never visited, while the money received in the deals was used to purchase a rental property to supplement the family’s income"
Ryan Blank is associated with District Settlement Finance, in Washington DC, which currently has a C rating from the Better Business Bureau
District Settlement Finance | Complaints | Better Business Bureau® Profile (bbb.org)
How BBB rates companies Overview of BBB Ratings | Better Business Bureau®
The Skullduggery of Ryan Blank, his entities and associates has given me an extraordinary amount of material to write about for over a decade, although I simply wish that structured settlement consumers were respected.
010818.pdf (marylandattorneygeneral.gov) January 2018 Maryland Attorney General Press Release
Structured settlement consumers deserve to be respected.
Will this South Carolina Settlement Outcome Be a Deterrent to Ryan Blank and other Factoring Actors and their Supporting Casts?
Hard to say, but South Carolina is on the right track. South Carolina's Structured Settlement Protection Act is now one of the toothiest in the USA. The Badger settlement not only hits the structured settlement factoring company, it hits the secondary market assignee (and, by entension its investors). bloodies the noses of the lawyers and law firms for the factoring company, guardians ad litem and the lawyer or advisor providing substandard independent professional advice.
It's time for all states to regulate sales practices in the structured settlement secondary and tertiary markets. There must be a clear pathway to go after bad actors when it's warranted.
Last updated September 30, 2024
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