ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER

Bank Broker Suspended and Fined for Mishandling Variable Annuity

The Case

Recently, a broker at a national bank was fined and suspended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for a year and a half after alleged wrongdoing. The broker allegedly put his wife on his client’s variable annuity as a 50% beneficiary without the client’s consent. According to court papers, the broker took his wife’s name off of the annuity after ten days and blamed the mistake on clerical errors. He also allegedly used his customers’ personal banking information to persuade them to move their brokerage accounts to the bank he represented. If you or a loved one has been the victim of annuity fraud or have lost money due to surrender charges or other fees associated with an unsuitable annuity, call the experienced financial elder abuse and annuities lawyers today at Evans Law Firm, Inc. (415)441-8669 and we may be able to help.

Ultimately, in the recent case, FINRA decided that these actions were punishable with a license suspension and fine. The broker’s alleged acts may seem egregious and, in some respects, rare. But disclosure rule violations, misrepresentations, mistakes, and annuity fraud happen all the time and we at Evans Law Firm see all varieties of it. Annuities are very complex financial products. They are often sold without complete disclosures and are marketed as great investments when they may make almost no sense to the purchaser. These products are likely completely unsuitable to seniors; the contracts often include terms and conditions too restrictive and onerous for a senior who may well need access to his or her money and be subjected to stiff surrender penalties for any withdrawals.

Annuities are not for everybody, and we understand that. You should too. Never be afraid to ask for a third-party opinion. Here at Evans Law Firm, we are able to review your annuity at no cost if you believe that you or a loved one were victims of annuity fraud in the state of California.

Some of the major annuity and life insurance providers in California are:

• Transamerica Life Insurance Company
• John Hancock Life Insurance Company
• Bankers Life Insurance and Casualty company
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
• Pacific Life Insurance Company
• Genworth Life Insurance Company
• ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company
• Lincoln Benefit Life Company
• Metlife/Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
• Unum Life Insurance Company of America
• Voya/Reliastar Life Insurance Company
• Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company
• Lincoln Benefit Life Company
• AXA Equitable Life Insurance

Contact Us

If you or a loved one been the victim of annuity fraud in any California county, contact the Evans Law Firm financial elder abuse and annuity fraud attorneys at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Our attorneys have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a FINRA arbitration, jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.