Litigation

The NSSTA "Pin Cushion" of Its Own Design

By John Darer

Expect NSSTA member Patrick Hindert to insert pins into his NSSTA voodoo doll any day now. Those of us who witnessed Patrick Hindert
  at The Grand Hyatt in San Francisco flitting in and out of the NSSTA legal committee or the Legs and Regs meetings (no doubt unwillingly empowered by the NSSTA Board due to the "tenterhooks" of NSSTA counsel), may not have been aware of Hindert's exploits at the National Association of Settlement Purchasers meeting in Las Vegas the very same week. Hindert reports that he moderated a panel on "How to Grow and Improve The Structured Settlement Market" which he has previously alleged is through factoring. It is not surprising to this author that Hindert moderated this event. Hindert is a coward who challenged this author to debate on the same subject and then once the challenge was accepted, he ducked. So 5 months later one cannot be surprised of the presentation of this hypothesis to an effectively rigged audience substantially composed of  "financial crack" dealers and their legal representatives.

It is common knowledge that  a number of structured settlement professionals participate in factoring transactions by taking kickbacks from factoring brokers (such as 90% of those who patronize Rhonda Bentzen of Bentzen Funding Solutions) and/or other factoring companies, a practice that takes money out of the mouths of tort victims.

Among the questions asked here are a few that stand out:

Hindert question 1 Should the primary structured settlement market be subject to the same legal requirements as the secondary market? Examples: disclosure and judicial approval.

Comment: Why are there no questions concerning:

• Requiring factoring brokers such as Bentzen and other factoring companies to register wth the Secretary of State in each and every state that they do business.
• Professional licensure on par with life settlements a business that many of the same companies are involved in
• Adherence to truth in advertising standards
• The ethics of NASP members who play "periodic payment card monte", the purchase of structured settlement payment rights within the first two years of a structured settlement's life, a guaranteed money loser for a tort victim on par for their litigation recovery with the financial devastation wreaked on investment portfolios by the recent stock markets.
• The ethics of factoring companies like Future Annuities of America using a company name that falsely implies that they sell an insurance product, or using the term "structured settlements BBB" in its advertising (BBB as in Better Business Bureau) to imply that the Better Business Bureau has endorsed its misleading advertising.

Hindert Question 2 Do you and your clients gain any reassurance from the fact that some NASP members continue to purchase annuities issued by all current NSSTA annuity providers including AIG ?

Comment:
I personally find that the fact that some companies are willing to buy the paper to be reassuring to some. However the "in the gutter" sales practices of companies such as Woodbridge are clear reason why there needs to be an advertsing standard for factoring companies that is on par with the laws for approaching seniors. I can't wait to see how the "NFCDA" ("National Financial Crack Dealers Association") bands together with NSSTA member Hindert's help to fight it.

Hindert Question 3 Should any such financial concerns qualify for "best interest" consideration under state structured settlement protection statutes?

Comment:
Judging by his actions NSSTA member Patrick Hindert appears to want to add to any crisis of confidence not help it.

This author is a member of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association. The opinions expressed herein are his own, although believed to be shared by others. This author believes that Patrick Hindert's involvement in NSSTA is a carcinogen that is being allowed to metastasize due to the inaction of the NSSTA board. Such inaction conflicts with the message that NSSTA is sending to its members with respect to factoring business practices and promises that certain NSSTA Board members made during speeches when they campaigned for the NSSTA Board of Directors.

Full post as published by Structured Settlements 4Real on October 25, 2008 (boomark / email).