Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
The American Association of Retired Persons or AARP, is a non-government organization designed to advocate for persons over 50. A recent article on the organization’s webpage has advised senior veterans to be on their guard against fraudulent annuities targeted at vets. The AARP article focused on one scam, calling itself the “Aid & Attendance Project” or “A&AP,” and similar organizations are primarily located in Washington State. However, various strains of annuities fraud are widespread throughout the United States.
The scheme in question promises to effectively cloak a veteran’s assets, making them appear destitute in such a way as to qualify the vets for benefits through the Veteran’s Administration (VA). However, these financial products offered usually just move the veteran’s money around and generates profits for the scammers in terms of commissions and other fees. Some of these annuities fraud scams have billed victims for services or financial products that the victim never ordered or requested.
To scammers, senior veterans make an ideal target for annuities fraud. First, many seniors are in the process of organizing retirement investments, and have substantial nest eggs saved up. On top of this, senior veterans could have access to military pensions and other sources of guaranteed income. Additionally, some may qualify for legitimate VA benefits. For scammers, guaranteed sources of income make a tempting target.
The AARP article points out that it is in fact illegal to hide financial assets from the VA in order to qualify for VA benefits. Thus, the targets of the annuities fraud scams may find themselves facing legal troubles. Additionally, the AARP’s investigation uncovered senior citizens facing perils like eviction from their homes, since seniors planned on their annuities working as promised.
Signs of potentially fraudulent annuities may include promises to speed a claim with the VA (legitimate advisers will not make such a claim), or advising veterans that they can hide assets from the VA. Additionally, if an adviser claims to have filed a claim with the VA, when they never actually did so, this is a major red flag. Many annuity scams of this type use patriotic-sounding names or claim to have a connection to legitimate agencies.
If you or a loved one has fallen victim to annuities fraud, you may feel trapped. Scammers have a way of making it sound like they have all the cards. But you need to remember that regardless of the situation, you still have rights. There are steps that you can take to regain a measure of control over the situation. You can start to explore your options by visiting the Life Insurance, Annuities Fraud Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Here, you can enter information about your situation for a legal review by a trained expert with a background in this type of litigation. The initial consultation is completely free of charge and from here, you can receive additional guidance on the best steps to take in your exact situation.
All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
