ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Multiple Elder Victims Of Fraudulent IRA Scheme
Victims Lost All Retirement Savings
Arbitration Panel Awards Victims $12 Million
Financial elder abuse can strike anyone either when a predator targets them individually or when they are part of a larger financial elder abuse scheme injuring multiple victims. A Los Angeles arbitration panel recently awarded over $12 million to two elderly victims of financial elder abuse against an insurance agency and two of its co-owners. Details of the reported award are discussed below. The case illustrates how devastating financial elder abuse by insurance agents selling unsuitable products to seniors can be. Evans Law Firm, Inc. represents seniors who have suffered loss as a result of being sold an unsuitable insurance product or other investment by a financial advisor, insurance agent, retirement planner, stockbroker, or other type of investment advisor. If you or a loved one is a victim of financial elder abuse in Los Angeles or elsewhere in California call us today at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
$12 Million Arbitration Award For Financial Elder Abuse
In a recently rendered arbitration award,[1] two elder victims have been awarded over $12 million due to alleged financial elder abuse by an insurance agency and its co-owners. The disputes involved an insurance program, known as the IRA Reboot, which targeted vulnerable senior citizens visited by insurance agents in their homes. During these visits, the agents recommended the elderly clients to liquidate their assets, including retirement accounts, cash-on-hand, other insurance products, and securities, and invest in Future Income Payments, Inc. (FIP) and Minnesota Life Insurance Company (MLIC) life insurance policies. Agents selling this product visited two elderly victims at their homes and allegedly convinced them to cash out their IRAs and other assets to invest in the IRA Reboot. Due to their poor health, the victims received substandard insurance rates, which allegedly were not discussed with them, and according to the award the victims were not informed that the products they already owned offered better terms than the new insurance sold to them. The panel found that the victims were told to make investments into FIP, falsely described in testimony as a safe holding bin to fund the premiums on MLIC’s life insurance policies.
The awards made findings that the agents used pressure sales tactics, duress, and undue influence to take advantage of the elderly victims. The victims allegedly lost their retirement assets and the money they needed for their necessary care, health, and welfare totaling $716,256 in losses. The case against the issuer, the marketing organization that developed the products sold and trained the selling agents, and other defendants is still pending.
Remedies For Financial Elder Abuse
As the reported case illustrates, senior victims of financial elder abuse may be entitled to enhanced damages in addition to the actual economic damages suffered. Enhanced remedies include damages for emotional distress, treble damages pursuant to California Civil Code Section 3345, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs for bringing your suit under Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15657.5. In the reported case, the panel awarded the two elderly victims $944,469 in economic damages, $1,209,200 in emotional distress damages, $6,461,007 in trebled damages under Cal. Civil Code§ 3345, $1,472,000 in punitive damages and $2,027,341 in attorneys’ fees and costs totaling $12,114,017.87.
Contact Us
If you or someone you love is the victim of any type of financial elder abuse in Los Angeles or elsewhere in California, call Ingrid M. Evans at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. is not involved in the reported case in any way.
