Annuity Fraud Gets Insurance Broker 60-Month Prison Sentence

A Michigan insurance broker has been found guilty of annuity fraud, and was sentenced to 60 months in prison for allegedly defrauding elderly clients and additional tax charges. The defendant was recently discovered to have been scamming his elderly clients out of their annuity funds for his personal gain.

Insurance broker William Edward Lowder had his sentence delivered to him in court by U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell after being found guilty of defrauding several clients out of significant investment funds. The investment fraud was reportedly a part of Lowder’s bigger scam of wire fraud, which he had been operating while maintaining Lowder Insurance Agency.

Lowder’s alleged scam was discovered after a collective effort by the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office, the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI, who were assisted by the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation. Judge Bell sentenced Lowder to an additional 36-month concurrent sentence for filing a false tax return in 2008. Judge Bell stated the length of the sentence had to do with the amount of time it took for Lowder’s scam to be discovered, as well his failure to repay any of his victims.

Originally, Lowder was a regular licensed insurance agent, but in early 2001 Lowder reportedly began defrauding his clients. His scam was aimed at elderly clients and their annuities. Lowder would convince the clients to liquidate their existing annuities and rely on him to reinvest the money into more promising financial ventures for them. However, instead of reinvesting the money, Lowder deposited all the money into his own bank account. Lowder hid this act of fraud by presenting his clients with false account statements.

According to the investigation, Lowder managed to steal more than $1 million from his clients between 2001 and 2009. The prosecution team points out that the victims that Lowder schemed had worked hard for their retirement money, and that he is obligated to pay back every penny. Lowder has been ordered to pay a restitution of $1,567,908 and to complete 300 hours of community service after serving his sentence.

Overview of Annuity Fraud

Legal experts are concerned about the growing number of cases featuring defendants similar to Lowder. Across the country, insurance agents are attempting to convince elderly clients to convert whatever financial investments they have into annuities. Additionally, insurance companies have also been found to take advantage of elderly clients by convincing them to change annuity plans or policies.

To protect themselves, legal experts encourage the elderly community to keep themselves informed of their legal rights regarding their finances, and to looking for suspicious behavior from the insurance agents.  Seniors should be especially wary when working with a financial adviser under any of the following conditions:

• The senior is unlikely to live long enough to collect their payments.
• The annuity makes up more than 35 percent of the senior’s assets.
• The Surrender Fee (the amount the senior will have to pay if they cash-in an annuity early) is more than 14 percent of the principal.
• The same agent sold the senior multiple annuities.

File an Annuity Fraud Lawsuit Today

If you believe that you or a loved one have been the victim of an annuity financial scam, you have legal options. Please visit the Life Insurance, Annuities Fraud Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. There, you can submit your claim for a free legal review and if it qualifies for legal action, a seasoned annuity lawyer will contact you for a free, no-obligation consultation. You will be guided through the litigation process at no out-of-pocket expenses or hidden fees. The annuity fraud lawyers working this investigation do not get paid until you do.