Securities Arbitration Lawyers BlogFederal Employee Benefit Counselors Targeted Federal Government Employee Retirement Plan Participants With Variable Annuities Scheme.
Silver Law Group and The Law Firm of David Chase are reviewing potential claims of fraudulent inducement of federal employees into purchasing high fee paying variable annuity products by LPL Financial LLC (CRD#6413) affiliated brokers Brandon Long (CRD# 5975459) , Christopher S Laws (CRD#4479529) , Johnathan Dax Cooke (CRD#5365691) and Danny Scott Hood (CRD#3236852).
Variable annuities (“VAs”) are highly-complex financial products. According to FINRA, a good way to think of a VA is as a cross between an insurance product and an investment product.
Like other annuities, a VA is a contract between the investor and an insurance company. The investor pays the insurer a single payment or a series of payments called premiums. In exchange for those premiums, the insurer promises to make periodic payments to you either immediately or at some point in the future.
Variable annuities are often sold to elderly individuals. Stockbrokers are required to make sure that whatever they recommend is suitable for that individual.
Our attorneys are experienced in handling cases involving variable annuities and have recovered losses on behalf of aggrieved investors through FINRA arbitration. Our firm’s are dedicated to pursuing claims on behalf of aggrieved elderly investors .
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) recently issued a warning to the 5 million plus Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) participants about the dangers of investing their TSP with a non-government affiliated organization.
This warning comes after the SEC took enforcement action against Federal Employee Benefit Counselors (FEBC) whic masqueraded as a government affiliated agency. According to the SEC, FEBC was a self-described “national consulting group” that preyed on Federal Employees. The SEC also alleges that certain FEBC employees fraudulently induced Federal employees to roll over funds from their TSP accounts into privately issued variable annuities. The defendants did all of this while creating a false impression that FEBC was in some way affiliated or approved by the Federal Government.
To avoid scams like FEBC, the SEC offers these safe investing tips:
Federal government agencies, including the SEC, do NOT endorse or sponsor any particular securities, issuers, products, services, professional credentials, firms, or individuals.
If someone offers you an investment opportunity and claims any affiliation with the federal government, follow these tips:
- Do not trust any contact information or a website provided by someone contacting you with an investment idea when that person claims to be affiliated with the government, the TSP, or government retirement plans.
- According to the agency that administers the TSP, the TSP will never contact you by email, telephone, or mail asking you to provide sensitive personal information such as your account number, Social Security number, password, or PIN.
- You can confirm that a seller is not affiliated with a government agency by contacting the agency directly or calling the SEC’s toll-free investor assistance line at (800) 732-0330.
- Always be cautious about providing personal information to anyone you do not personally know.
Silver Law Group & The Law Firm Of David R. Chase represent the interests of investors who have been the victims of investment fraud. If you have questions about your legal rights, please contact Scott Silver of the Silver Law Group Or David Chase of The Law Firm of David Chase for a free consultation at ssilver@silverlaw.com or toll free at (800) 975-4345. Or david@davidchaselaw.com or toll free (800)-760-0912