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In Reply to: Re: Re: world financial group div. of Aegon,N.V. posted by Mark on March 07, 2001 at 17:46:49:
7. Annuities Fraud & Misrepresentation:
If an agent sells you a “tax-deferred” annuity and then places it within an IRA, which is already tax-deferred, it is fraud. WRL(Western Reserve Life), the WMA's major insurance partner is currently the subject of a class-action law suit for this practice(see:
http://www.insure.com/life/annuity/prudentialaegon600.html). Prudential and AEGON(WRL's parent company) are also named as defendants in the suit.
In addition, the suit claims that the plaintiffs were deliberately misled to believe their accounts were earning higher interest rates, because even the quarterly statements they received did not disclose the fees which reduced the gross interest rates in the mutual-fund accounts. The WMA and WRL Compliance Departments are known to defend this illegal practice. The practice occurs because, unlike mutual funds, the annuities generate large commissions and fees for WMA and WRL, at the consumers' expense.
8. Verify All Business Addresses & Telephone Numbers: As absurd as this may sound prima facie, it is necessary: Verify business addresses with your state department of insurance(see above). The business address listed by your agent with the department should have a listed telephone number, in the telephone directory.
The address submitted to the insurance department should agree with the business address he gives you. Do not do business with anyone who uses PO boxes or unlisted telephone numbers. Complaints about such problems, use of multiple aliases, fraudulent sales illustrations, and agent misrepresentation of professional/educational credentials and income have been made to the WMA Compliance Department, to no avail.
The WMA has actively recruited and compensated convicted criminals, including convicted
felons (http://www.investmentnews.com/news/010305-01-002080.shtml,
http://www.securities.state.oh.us/FinalOrders/FinalOrders98/98-372%20Korfant). Korfant(CRD Number 2985516) was unable to obtain a securities license until the WMA and WRL intervened with Ohio securities regulators. One of the noted individuals attesting to the good character of Korfant was WMA Field Vice Chairman Tom Mathews(CRD Number 11097573), who himself is a convicted criminal. Mathews was recently reported touring the US and Canada in some circus of pathological liars, criminals, and securities-regulation violators promoting the repackaged WMA, aka the WFG.
The WMA has also provided Internet service to convicted criminals such as Kent Dougherty(CRD 2598848), facilitating criminal Internet trespass through sending computer viruses, and illegally entering others’ Internet accounts. In addition to “recruiting” and “hiring” the aforementioned accused PRC neutron-warhead spy and importer of Chinese “students” for “cultural exchange,” one of the WMA’s convicted criminals includes Randall Bonebrake(CRD Number 4178246), who is apparently in charge of mitigating proliferation of additional nuclear-weapons components such as tritium in the evil oppressively anti-terrorist and capitalist USA. See http://www.hanfordnews.com/1997/apr35.html, or go to the hanford.news.com site and run a search on “Bonebrake.” Note that on Bonebrake’s CRD resume, on file with NASD regulation, he and the WMA list his beginning of his employment with the WMA as 2000, when witnesses gave sworn testimony at his document-theft trial that he was a current WMA employee(1996/1997). It would be nice if Mr. Bonebrake would submit to an FBI polygraph examination in which he would describe all documents he saw, all documents he removed, all documents he gave to other agencies(and whom), explain why he gave such sensitive information to Greenpeace and German newspaper Der Spiegel, and what contact he established during his travels to Germany.
9. Consult an attorney before signing a contract with the WMA, and ask him specifically about any financial or legal liability you might incur regarding the persons in your downline. You will probably be surprised. The WMA’s phony claim that its multi-level-marketing distributors are “independent contractors” was struck down by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry in the Christine B. Brymerski-Clough v. WMA Securities case. She was awarded back wages as a result of the Decision. You may contact the Department and obtain a copy of the Decision, which was also mentioned in Investment News(http://www.investmentnews.com/news/000228-01-000336.shtml). Former employees(victims) of the WMA may wish to contact their state labor agency at http://www.rmlibrary.com/db/agencylabor.htm or visit the following sites:
http://www.nolo.com/encyclopedia/articles/ic/emp17.html
http://freeadvice.com/law/530us.htm
Note that the $100-$200 “administrative fee” charged by the WFG/WMA has been specifically ruled a “franchise fee” by the California Department of Corporations. You might want to ask the Department for a copy of the ruling against the WMA(File No. ALPHA OAH No. N 1999020086).