Nothing causes more anger than those who take advantage of children or the elderly. In this particular case, Scott Kohn, a convicted felon, sold investors on the premise they could earn more retirement income by borrowing against their pensions. The Wall Street Journal reports that $100 million has been wiped out – and likely will not be recovered.
Mr. Kohn, 64, and his company, Future Income Payments, along with various investment advisors who sold the scam, are being sued by a number of investors. At last count, 25 states have taken enforcement actions or are investigating FIP – which is now closed.
One issue with private market investment products is there are few regulations on how they can be sold, or who can buy them. The second issue is that these types of products promise a higher return than traditional stock and bond investments, so they are extremely appealing to many retirees.
One couple from Hemet, CA, a retired teacher and a retired postal worker invested $78,000 into Future Income Payments. Their financial adviser allegedly sold them on making money off their retirement money. Now, it’s gone. Other victims were advised to cash in their pensions and even refinance their homes in order to invest in FIP.
Not only is FIP being investigated, there were a number of unscrupulous investment advisers who pushed FIP products on their unwitting clients.
At The Harris Firm, we post these kinds of articles to remind you there are people who want to steal your money. In May, we posted an article on “The Four Warning Signs of Investment Fraud,” and you can find it here. It is imperative that investors research, ask questions about, and thoroughly vet any investment opportunities – especially the ones that sound too good to be true.
If you feel you have been the victim of investment fraud, please contact us. We have successfully handled numerous investment fraud cases for our clients, and would be happy to investigate your case.
