by Structured Settlement Watchdog
What is going on with Benjamin Geber , National Structured Funding and True Settlement?
- Benjamin Geber is one of the patent holders of a method for structured settlement factoring auctions
- National Structured Funding had a website last year on which it claimed to be a member of the National Ethics Association and when you clicked the seal a blank page with the word "heroin" appeared
- True Settlement is a series of web pages within The Benjamin Financial Group website which makes some false and misleading statements and presents a mass of general confusion:
A. Mark Graham, said to be a company principal, is stated to be a member of the $156 a year National Ethics Association and explicit instructions are given to go to a web address and enter in Mark Graham to verify information that appears to be bogus. The link that is given is a dead link Download National Ethics Assn True Settlement LOL Furthermore Mark Graham appears to not be a member of the National Ethics Association as you can see by this link Download Find a National Ethics Association Member MARK GRAHAM SHOWS NADA
About Us | TRUE-SETTLEMENT
1. No idea who True Settlement was
2. No idea who Mark Graham was, despite the name appearing on the Benjamin Financial Group True Settlement web pages and Mark Graham being the trademark holder of National Structured Funding which is plastered on the about us, LOL.
3. No idea who CBC Settlement Funding was despite the impression one gets by the amount of information lifted from the CBC Settlement Funding website. I confirmed this morning that CBC Settlement Funding is not part of Benjamin Financial Group/True Settlement and vice versa.
4. No idea who Stone Street Capital was despite lottery information on the Benjamin Fiancnial Group/True Funding webpages about lottery funding that suggest to the reader that there is a connection.
5. Stated that the company address was in Falls Church Virginia when the website page says 7600 Leesburg Pike, Suite 305 East Tysons Corner VA 22043
despite those names appearing all over various web pages
C. The "about us" section of the Benjamin Financial Group/True Funding website refers to National Structured Funding. Who the heck is the consumer dealing with? The Benjamin Financial Group, True Funding, National Structured Funding, or Hugh DeFuknose? Our research shows that National Structured Funding is a dba of Enovate Marketing, a Texas company run by Mark Graham, who is the trademark holder.
Ignorance Makes Life Easy For Competitors, The Benjamin Financial Group/ True Settlement Calls an Annuity 'a business segment'
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To wit:
'The Structured Settlement Industry incorporates several different business segments made up of many different companies. The follow is a brief overview of the Structured Settlement industry and the function of each segment.
Primary Structured Settlement Market
“The Primary Structured Settlement market refers to the market in creating and placing structured settlements in connection with the settlement of a lawsuit or claim. This market is made up of insurance companies that issue structured settlement annuities and brokers or advisors who advise or act as broker for plaintiffs, defendants and insurance companies. Structured Settlement Brokers work with the parties in a personal injury lawsuit that are considering a structured settlement. The brokers coordinate with the attorneys and obtain quotes from the insurance companies issuing structured settlement annuities. The brokers attempt to find a structured settlement annuity that will address the future need of the recipient. Business segment of structured settlement industry Yes or No? NO, probably better defined as market sector. The primary market operates independently and ha sits own trade association
Insurance companies have multiple roles in regard to structured settlements. They are often the defendant in a lawsuit, more often they are providing insurance coverage to one of their customers who has been sued. If a case is settled with a structured settlement the insurance company will either purchase or issue an annuity that will pay the settlement recipient for the predetermined number of years. Settlement terms can range widely, paying recipient for as many as 10 – 40 years or for the remainder of the recipient’s life. Business Segment Yes or No? NO
The insurance company through a qualified assignee purchases an annuity that will fund the payments made to the settlement recipient. The payments that come from the annuity may be tax free depending if certain standards are satisfied at the time of settlement. Business segment of structured settlement industry Yes or No? NO it is a product issued by an insurance company. Could be a business segment of an insurance company
The secondary structured settlement market helps recipients that are in need of funds. If a settlement recipient has a need for a larger sum of cash then their payments are providing they can sell some or all of their future payments for a lump sum cash payment. This flexibility is not available from the original settlement and must be handled through a “factoring” company that purchases future payments for cash. Business segment of structured settlement industry Yes or No? No, probably better defined as a market sector . The secondary market operates independently and has its own trade association.
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Sidebar:
Note that at the time of the original settlement the plaintiff can allocate between cash and structure.
Even if arguendo, one concedes that primary and secondary market are part of a single structured settlement industry one must make the following arguments;
Primary market is fully regulated. participants are primarily licensed insurance professionals, insurers or their representatives, practicing lawyers and staff. The business of insurance its participants, annuity business segment and ergo structured settlement sub-segment are regulated. Products must be filed and approved by state insurance regulators. There actually is a regulator in each state who sets and enforces rules and has the power to fine , suspend or revoke.
There is a wide chasm between the primary market and what little regulation there is for transactions in the structured settlement secondary market. Unlike the primary market there is absolutely no regulation of solicitation of consumers in the secondary market. There is no regulation who can solicit consumers and how consumers can be solicited. Consumers of secondary market services whether sellers or investors, have been left terribly exposed.
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