Yearly Archives: 2020

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Illegal Physician Referral Kickbacks Violations of Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law and False Claims Act  Former Hospital Official Blows Whistle on Violations Hospital kickbacks to physicians for patient referrals are illegal, and when the patients are covered by Medicare or other government payment programs, these kickbacks constitute fraud against […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Residents Denied Medication and Food  Theft From Elders’ Rooms Lack of Nursing and Aide Supervision Nursing home residents are susceptible to neglect and abuse in the best of times but in periods of economic downturn the risks seem to grow exponentially.  State health agencies are reporting increases in […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Insurance Policies Are Not Fund Investments Contract Rates Have Caps And Other Limitations Penalties On Withdrawals  When you survey fliers and ads for indexed deferred annuities you may get the sense that deferred annuities are really the same as direct investments in market indexes. They aren’t; deferred annuities […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Incidents Of Financial Elder Abuse Up Complexity Of Cases Grows Too How Elder Abuse Counsel Can Help  Some regions of the United States are reporting over 100% increases in incidents of reported financial exploitation of seniors.  Elder advocates estimate that roughly only 1 in 14 cases of financial […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Insurance Agent Accused Of Stealing Seniors’ Premium Payments Allegedly Swindles 93-Year Old Client Funeral Insurance Policy Scam Seniors are vulnerable to financial elder abuse from many quarters, and insurance agents are among those who can swindle seniors out of money.  In one recently reported case,[1] police and the […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Home Ownership And Estate Planning Planning Ahead To Avoid Problems Recognize Potential For Financial Elder Abuse For most of us, our home is the largest, and most precious, asset we have.  As tied as we are to our home, it may not be possible to remain there until […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Fall Of Annuity Interest Rates Continues Reassess The Viability Of Annuities Avoid Getting Stuck In An Annuity Annuity interest rates have been in a freefall in 2020, and there are no signs ahead of any correction.  Collapsing annuity interest rates translate into collapsing monthly payouts when contracts begin […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Government Payments For Unproductive Work Contractors Settle False Claims Suit for $58 Million Blowing The Whistle On Improper Billing Improper billing by government contractors and service providers costs taxpayers millions of dollars every year.  Individuals with information about improper billing of the government may have grounds for bringing […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Commodity Futures Trading Commission Polices Bitcoin Trading Enforcement Action Charges Broker With False Representations  Customers Lose $7.4 Million In Bitcoin Investments On October 2, 2020, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ordered a broker to pay $7.4 million[1] in restitution to two investors for making fraudulent representations […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Financial Advisor Embezzles $8 Million From Structured Settlement Funds Thirteen Individuals Swindled Out Of Annuity Funds Severely Disabled Child Among Victims Structured settlements operate essentially like annuities paying out an income stream from a fund of money set aside for that purpose.  Structured settlements are often  used for […]