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- $6.4 million fine for companies guilty of scamming seniors with pricey legal plans...
Posted on 10/22/2009 - Preparing a living trust for your children? Don’t forget to name a guardian...
Posted on 9/30/2009 - An unusual type of trust is becoming popular...
Posted on 8/31/2009 - Can you make your trust a beneficiary of your IRA?...
Posted on 8/31/2009 - Financial elder abuse cases on the rise as economy continues to struggle...
Posted on 7/29/2009
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News
$6.4 million fine for companies guilty of scamming seniors with pricey legal plans
Posted on Oct 22, 2009
A case in Ohio is serving as yet another warning for seniors about the dangers posed by pricey and unnecessary legal plans. The state Supreme Court ordered two companies to pay an unprecedented $6.4 million fine for swindling thousands of senior citizens.
The companies, American Family Prepaid Legal Corporation and Heritage Marketing and Insurance Services Inc. are both based in California and are co-owned by Jeffrey and Stanley Norman. In addition to the record setting fine, going forward neither company may do business in Ohio.
According to court documents, the companies convinced elderly customers to pay unfairly high prices for legal plans and annuities that they either did not need or were limited to the point of not being worth the money.
The ruling was based in part on the determination that employees at the two companies were selling legal plans despite the fact that they were not attorneys. In the state of Ohio it is illegal for non-lawyers to practice law, and selling legal plans is considered practicing law.
Co-owner Jeffrey Norman has defended his companies, despite the fact that he is also facing legal action in North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania in addition to Ohio. Mr. Norman claimed that the case against him was flawed, and that the Supreme Court panel was biased against him.
As a result of the ruling the companies must turn over their customer lists to the Columbus Bar Association. The Association will then contact the individuals on the list to let them know that they can sue to recover the money they spend on the plans and annuitites.
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