The alleged investment scam by Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein could top $1 billion, making it one of the biggest fraud cases in South Florida history, the head of the FBI in Miami said Thursday morning at a news conference. ``When it's all said and done, I estimate that this scheme could well exceed one billion dollars,'' said FBI Special Agent in Charge John Gillies. He would not talk about whether others may have been involved with the lawyer's alleged Ponzi scheme, but said ``I do not believe this was a one-man show.'' His remarks came as the FBI and IRS sought the help of possible victims of Rothstein's alleged scam. They are urging investors of any kind to contact the FBI by telephone or e-mail with information about their investments, verification of those investments and other details. Agents will then pore over the information and first respond to the biggest victims -- a process that could take weeks. Asked why the FBI had not yet arrested Rothstein, Gillies responded: ``We are conducting this investigation in a timely manner, but we will not be rushed. We will be thorough, and we are far from over . . . I'd like to let the public know this case is going to take time.'' Structured Settlelent expert John Darer..explains why this isn't a structured settlement scam and why settlement planning from an expert is important.
The alleged investment scam by Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein could top $1 billion, making it one of the biggest fraud cases in South Florida history, the head of the FBI in Miami said Thursday morning at a news conference. ``When it's all said and done, I estimate that this scheme could well exceed one billion dollars,'' said FBI Special Agent in Charge John Gillies. He would not talk about whether others may have been involved with the lawyer's alleged Ponzi scheme, but said ``I do not believe this was a one-man show.'' His remarks came as the FBI and IRS sought the help of possible victims of Rothstein's alleged scam. They are urging investors of any kind to contact the FBI by telephone or e-mail with information about their investments, verification of those investments and other details. Agents will then pore over the information and first respond to the biggest victims -- a process that could take weeks. Asked why the FBI had not yet arrested Rothstein, Gillies responded: ``We are conducting this investigation in a timely manner, but we will not be rushed. We will be thorough, and we are far from over . . . I'd like to let the public know this case is going to take time.'' Structured Settlelent expert John Darer..explains why this isn't a structured settlement scam and why settlement planning from an expert is important.
John Darer and Mark Wahlstrom do a special edition of Speaking of Settlements to discuss the impending announcement by Hartford Financial that they are leaving the structured settlementbusiness. John and Mark discuss the ramifications for policyholders, lawyers and settlement professionals and the outlook for other life markets still actively engaged in writing structured settlements.
John Darer and Mark Wahlstrom do a special edition of Speaking of Settlements to discuss the impending announcement by Hartford Financial that they are leaving the structured settlementbusiness. John and Mark discuss the ramifications for policyholders, lawyers and settlement professionals and the outlook for other life markets still actively engaged in writing structured settlements.
Exonerees in Texas, which leads the nation in freeing the wrongly convicted, soon will become instant millionaires under a new state law that took effect this week. Exonerees will get $80,000 for each year they spent behind bars. The compensation also includes lifetime annuity payments that for most of the wrongly convicted are worth between $40,000 and $50,000 a year — making it by far the nation's most generous package. Scott Drake interviews Seth Miller, Director of the Florida Innocence Project.
Exonerees in Texas, which leads the nation in freeing the wrongly convicted, soon will become instant millionaires under a new state law that took effect this week. Exonerees will get $80,000 for each year they spent behind bars. The compensation also includes lifetime annuity payments that for most of the wrongly convicted are worth between $40,000 and $50,000 a year — making it by far the nation's most generous package. Scott Drake interviews Seth Miller, Director of the Florida Innocence Project.
Mark Wahlstrom and Matt Bracy discuss the issue of factoring company advertising. We are all tired of the " It's your money, use it how you want it" type advertising and in this video they talk about advertising by factoring companies. If you want to see a real discussion of one of the biggest issues in structured settlements, watch this conversation between two of the industries experts.
On March 1, 2007, plaintiff Roque Renteria, 14, a ninth-grade student, was told to run laps with the rest of his high school track team during an afternoon practice. About 10 students and he gathered on the field, and a senior student began wrestling with Roque. The senior then wrestled with another student before resuming wrestling with Roque.
It was picture day, and at the time, two coaches were in the stands with the girls track team. Meanwhile, a substitute teacher was on the field, within eyesight and earshot of the horseplay.
As Roque and the senior wrestled, other students stood nearby, laughing and yelling at the horseplay. Eventually, the senior lifted Roque off the ground, pointed his head toward the ground and drove his head into the turf. The incident rendered Roque a C5-6 quadriplegic.
Roque, by and through his guardian ad litem Eduvina Renteria, sued the school district for negligent supervision, alleging that the school officials failed to intervene with the fight.
Plaintiff's counsel obtained a video of the event from a student who used his cell phone.
The school district contended that this was a sudden, unexpected incident, and that there was insufficient time to intervene.
Defense counsel also argued that the student who wrestled with Roque was negligent, and that Roque was comparatively at fault for participating in the activity.
The case eventually settled for \$18.4 Million.
Of the recovery, \$11.4 million went to a single-premium, tax-free annuity, while \$136,000 went to hospital and medical bills.
Scott Drakes talks with Roque's attorney...Stanley Jacobs at Jacobs & Eisfelder in Los Angeles.
(Courtesy of VerdictSearch.com)
On March 1, 2007, plaintiff Roque Renteria, 14, a ninth-grade student, was told to run laps with the rest of his high school track team during an afternoon practice. About 10 students and he gathered on the field, and a senior student began wrestling with Roque. The senior then wrestled with another student before resuming wrestling with Roque.
It was picture day, and at the time, two coaches were in the stands with the girls track team. Meanwhile, a substitute teacher was on the field, within eyesight and earshot of the horseplay.
As Roque and the senior wrestled, other students stood nearby, laughing and yelling at the horseplay. Eventually, the senior lifted Roque off the ground, pointed his head toward the ground and drove his head into the turf. The incident rendered Roque a C5-6 quadriplegic.
Roque, by and through his guardian ad litem Eduvina Renteria, sued the school district for negligent supervision, alleging that the school officials failed to intervene with the fight.
Plaintiff's counsel obtained a video of the event from a student who used his cell phone.
The school district contended that this was a sudden, unexpected incident, and that there was insufficient time to intervene.
Defense counsel also argued that the student who wrestled with Roque was negligent, and that Roque was comparatively at fault for participating in the activity.
The case eventually settled for \$18.4 Million.
Of the recovery, \$11.4 million went to a single-premium, tax-free annuity, while \$136,000 went to hospital and medical bills.
Scott Drakes talks with Roque's attorney...Stanley Jacobs at Jacobs & Eisfelder in Los Angeles.
(Courtesy of VerdictSearch.com)
Matt Bracy, senior counsel for Settlement Capital and one of the nations leading liquidity firms for structured settlements discusses the process by which annuity holders can factor, or obtain liquidity, for their structured settlement. An excellent tutorial on the process by which a court settlement beneficiary can obtain cash, the cost, the process, etc.
Matt Bracy, senior counsel for Settlement Capital and one of the nations leading liquidity firms for structured settlements discusses the process by which annuity holders can factor, or obtain liquidity, for their structured settlement. An excellent tutorial on the process by which a court settlement beneficiary can obtain cash, the cost, the process, etc.
What a couple of weeks this has been. I'm not exactly an old timer but I have been working in the financial community since 1979 and am a serious market historian, and in my life time I have seen nothing that matches the stunning collapses or forced sale and merger of major financial institutions we are watching almost daily.
The names are the who's who of the financial world and several of them will live on in infamy as symbols of the excess of the real estate and lending craze of the late 1990s and early part of this century. Countrywide, Merrill Lynch, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and now Washington Mutual. In the span of two weeks we have seen the largest investment bank, largest insurance company, largest savings and loan, largest brokerage house and largest mortgage underwriters fail or be absorbed under duress. Who could have ever imagined it would be this bad?
The question now then is where should the typical attorney and claimant put their money at settlement to avoid credit risk or possible default of the lending institution. A few ideas and simple steps for all of our readers and listeners, keeping in mind that i am not providing investment advice or assistance here, but simply outlining the facts of how to take simple steps to protect the safety of your funds:
1. If you have the funds in an FDIC bank you have $100,000 of protection so don't panic and pull funds from a bank if you hear rumors and your money is under the $100,000 limit. Part of the issue with Washington Mutual is that rumors of it's problems caused $18 billion in deposits to be pulled out of the bank since September 15th, essentially sealing the fate of the huge S&L. No financial entity can with stand that sort of run on it's deposits. I will bet that a solid majority of those funds were under the $100,000 limit, so they were moved needlessly and helped cause the very result they were fearing.
2. If you have more then $100,000 and are in a community bank or small regional bank, you can request a CDARS program which basically is a weekly process by which your bank buys CD's from other FDIC banks across the country, all under the $100,000 limit. Essentially you buy a program that costs about .20 basis points to .40 basis points in yield, allows you to purchase CD's and spread your risk so your funds are all under the FDIC umbrella. Your banker can assist you in designing a CDARS risk spreading strategy.
3. If you are with a commercial bank or Trust Company that doesn't participate in the CDARS program you need to speak with your banker or Trust officer about setting up a managed account that allows the bank or trust company to buy brokered CD's from banks with FDIC protection on your behalf. Basically this is the same as the CDARS program but your bank is buying the CD's in the market for you directly and holding them in your managed account. If the commercial bank goes down, your managed account assets are held separately and not commingled with the banks deposits and assets and are afforded protection.
4. If you are allocating funds to a structured settlement annuity, work with a structured settlement professional who has access to ALL of the annuity markets so that you can have the funds spread across several quality life companies. In most states, the state guarantee funds provide protection from $100,000 to $250,000 per annuity, so with a carefully planned structured settlement purchase your risk is spread across a variety of life markets. With the down grade of AIG to an A rating, along with Symetra and Liberty Life also having A ratings, there are essentially 7 markets left that have A+ ratings from AM Best and only one market, John Hancock, that enjoys a AAA rating from S&P. Work with your professional to select the right markets and spread the risk to insure that you have the best possible diversification.
5. Do NOT be purchasing bonds and long duration US Treasury bonds at this point and time. The rush to quality has driven down bond yields so a lot of people are tempted to buy long term bonds or junk rated bonds in order to get that extra interest rate kick. However, when the flight to quality eventually ends and the inevitable bump in interest rates occurs due to the drop in the value of the dollar over the cost of the huge market buy out, you will be seeing substantial losses in the value of your bond holdings. I know people are desperate for yield right now but you have to be exceptionally careful about the quality of bonds you buy, the duration and your over all plan or you could end up with substantial losses in value if rates jump back up over the next year or so. Make sure you are working with a qualified investment or planning expert if you are tempted to purchase bonds or any type at this time so they can guide you and inform you as to your best decision here.
In summary, stay in cash, stay under FDIC limits, work with your banker and settlement expert to create a program that gives you protection in the short term and peace of mind in the long term. Structured settlements still make a great deal of sense in this market, but you have to make them part of a larger plan.