TopClassActions  |  October 17, 2013

Category: Legal News

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Senior Citizen Sues ING Life Insurance for Stolen Retirement Funds

By Amanda Antell

 

ING life insurance lawsuitSenior citizen Ernest Abbit is suing ING Life Insurance for alleged insurance fraud, alleging the company had promised air-tight annuity contracts that turned out to be high-risk unauthorized investment transactions for the company. Upon further investigation, it was allegedly discovered that ING had been selling indexed annuity contracts to senior citizens without disclosing that they are composed of high-risk, complex investments, which allows the company to use the money at its own discretion until the client is expected to collect the annuity. 

Abbit claims that the Iowa-based location falsely told its elderly customers that their contracts were safe for retirement savings and offered generous turn-outs linked to the S&P 500 stock market index. According to the annuity fraud lawsuit, ING exercises its investment discretion under the clients’ contracts that insured that the indexed-annuities did not protect or build-up retirement savings. Abbit also said that ING promised to credit interest to him and other customers on a daily basis, but failed to do so and issued inaccurate financial misinformation to disguise the annuities’ poor performance.

In essence, Abbit alleges in his annuity fraud lawsuit that the annuity contracts actually devoured the clients’ retirement savings instead of protecting them. The company allegedly managed to mask this deception by sending out small investment returns which were far behind other investment rates. Additionally, the company did not properly disclose to their clients the true nature of their annuity contracts, and did not mention the high-risk derivatives in the contracts. Abbit and his attorney claim that while the clients suffer the risks, the company reaps the rewards by tricking investors into these contracts.

Abbit’s attorney says it’s especially cruel to target senior citizens because the contracts are often ambiguously written with complex legal information, and the complexity of derivatives and annuities are seldom explained to them. Abbit and other senior citizens who are trapped in these annuity contracts are losing up to 20 percent of their retirement savings due to the setup of these contracts.

By filing the annuity fraud lawsuit, Abbit is seeking financial compensation for his lost savings, restitution, imposition of a constructive trust and punitive damages. Charges against ING include breach of contract, breach of faith, breach of fiduciary duty, financial elder abuse, fraudulent concealment and other related charges.

The ING annuity fraud lawsuit is Ernest O. Abbott v. ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Co., Case No. 3:13-cv-02310, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Overview of Annuity Scams

An annuity is an insurance product that pays out income, making it a popular investment and retirement plan for the elderly in the United States. Annuities work by making a lump sum payment or series of payments into the annuity, and ideally, the annuity would pay the policyholder on a future date or on a payment schedule, the amount of money that was invested into the contract, plus acquired interest.

According to legal statistics, more than one-third of all cases of financial elder abuse involve annuities. In the past few years, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against insurance companies and brokers accused of defrauding elderly investors. While Abbit is fighting against the financial oppression ING placed on him, not many other elders are aware of this option. All across the country, the elderly are becoming targets of various financial scams, with the goal of harvesting their retirement savings. ING did exactly that in this case, reaping the benefits of risky investments in the stock market by using the annuity contracts of their elderly clients. Oftentimes, the elderly are not fully aware of these possibilities and do not have legal counsel present when they sign the annuity contract. Sadly, annuities have become a popular method to scam elderly people out of their retirement, due to the positive message they exude through their reputation of being tailored to retirement savings. 

File an Annuity Fraud Lawsuit Today

If you or your loved one were sold a life insurance policy or an annuity that did not turn out as promised, you may be able to obtain compensation through an individual lawsuit or by joining a class action lawsuit against the offending company. Visit the Life Insurance, Annuities Fraud Class Action Lawsuit Investigation and file your claim for free.

 

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2 thoughts onSenior Citizen Sues ING Life Insurance for Stolen Retirement Funds

  1. Annuitized says:

    Annuities are an INSURANCE not an INVESTMENT product

  2. Regina M. Carse says:

    My name is Regina Carse I have investments in ing I needed money to pay some bills, so I talked to an agent. He not only got my money, did,nt tell me I would not get paid for quite a few months. He locked me in on my investment so if I want to remove my money, I have to pay $30,000 to them. Also they put an expired date of 2043 on my contract, if I live that long. My IRA makes less money in interest than putting it in a bank. Is it to late to get help. I understand that the state of Pa. and New York had a group lawsuit, is it too late for me.

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