Prepaid Funeral Scam Fitting End to Multi-State Fraud Scheme 01/17/14 Casket and flowersScamming nuns. Taking advantage of the mentally disabled. Stealing from the elderly. Just when you think con men couldn’t sink any lower, they do: This time, a group of fraudsters took money from individuals who prepaid their own funerals to ease the financial and emotional burdens on their families. Recently, a Missouri man and five others were sentenced to federal prison for their role in a Ponzi-like prepaid funeral scheme that victimized some 97,000 customers in more than 16 states. The scheme caused more than $450 million in losses, smaller or non-existent death benefits for families at their most vulnerable, and huge profits that lined the pockets of the defendants. According to the Federal Trade Commission, millions of Americans enter into contracts to prearrange their funerals and prepay some or all of the expenses involved. Laws in individual states regulate the industry, and various states have laws to help ensure that these advance payments are available when they’re needed. However, protections vary widely from state to state, sometimes providing a window of opportunity for unscrupulous operators. That’s just what happened with James “Doug” Cassity and his Missouri-based company called National Prearranged Services Inc. (NPS). As early as 1992 and until 2008, Cassity and the other defendants employed by NPS or affiliated life insurance companies devised and ran a scheme to defraud purchasers of prearranged funeral contracts obtained from NPS. Also victimized were funeral homes that did business with NPS, financial institutions that served as trustees of the prearranged trusts established by NPS for their customers, and state insurance guarantee associations. Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones Obviously, before you enter into a contract of any kind, make sure you do your due diligence on the other party (get references, check with the Better Business...
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:15:41 +0000
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