76-Year-Old Investor Fears Savings ‘Vanished’ After Investing With Seeman Holtz, Class Action Alleges

A Florida insurance agency sold securities it said was collateralized by a portfolio of life insurance policies, however when investors tried to withdraw their investments, the savings seemed to have “vanished,” a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Fanny B. Millstein filed the class action lawsuit against Seeman Holtz and its founders Eric Holtz and Marshal Seeman in a Florida federal court Monday, alleging violations of multiple state and federal laws. 

The 76-year-old Florida resident and her husband Gerald J. Millstein invested more than $225,000 of their savings through Seeman Holtz in 2016 and 2017 in two of the promissory notes Seeman Holtz marketed to them. 

Over the last decade the insurance agency marketed and sold — primarily to seniors — securities in the form of promissory notes purportedly collateralized by life insurance policies issued to third parties, the class action alleges. 

Millstein was promised that her and her husband’s assets would be liquid and that they would be repaid upon maturity, the class action says. 

However, when the time came for repaying the notes on maturity in 2019 and 2020, Seeman Holtz told her that the firm was undergoing financial problems. 

“The effects have been devastating for Plaintiff. At age 76, Fanny Millstein should not be forced to contemplate that her and her husband’s life savings invested with Seeman Holtz have vanished,” the class action says. 

The class action lawsuit is suing Seeman Holtz for violations of Florida state securities laws, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, violations of Florida’s civil remedies for criminal practices act, violations of Florida RICO Statute and conspiracy to violate Florida’s Civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. 

Millstein says Seeman Holtz claimed to invest in life insurance policies which would pay out to note-holders a substantial premium upon the death of the insured. 

However, she says Seeman Holtz was not actually registered to sell securities like the notes, nor were its agents registered as financial advisors or properly licensed to sell the notes.

The class action also alleges that the notes themselves were not properly registered as securities. 

“The Seeman Holtz Defendants fraudulently represented to investors in every entity they created that the underlying third-party insurance policy assets were held by a collateral agent to protect those assets,” the class action says.  

In reality, no collateral agent existed and Seeman Holtz “co-mingled” all of the policies for its own benefit, the claim says. Using a network of unregistered financial advisors or dealers, Seeman Holtz sold the notes to investors by telling them they were “safe and secure” and would be collateralized by a portfolio of life insurance policies that would provide substantial returns. 

However, when investors tried to redeem the notes, Seeman Holtz consistently told them it could not because of a lack of liquidity. It allegedly claimed it needed additional time and was on the cusp of “recapitalizing affiliated property and casualty business in order to obtain the necessary liquidity for the redemptions.” 

“That has never happened,” the class action says. 

Millstein is looking to represent anyone who purchased one or more of the notes. She is seeking all outstanding interest on the notes, the principal investments in the notes that have matured and rescission of the notes, plus interest, fees and a jury trial.

In another case involving retirees’ savings, a 75-year-old man is seeking justice after he spent almost $300,000 of his retirement savings on collectible coins he was told were a good investment. He only realized their minimal value when trying to sell them to pay for his daughter’s wedding, another nationwide class action lawsuit alleges.

Do you feel your retirement savings are in safe hands? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by James D. Sallah and Joshua A Katz of Sallah Astarita & Cox, LLC, Scott L. Silver, Ryan A. Schwamm, and Peter M. Spett of Silver Law Group, Gary S. Menzer and Michael S. Hill of Menzer & Hill, P.A., and David M. Buckner and Brett E. von Borke of Buckner + Miles.

The Seeman Holtz Promissory Notes Class Action Lawsuit is Millstein et al., v. Holtz et al., Case No. 0:21-cv-61179-XXXX, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Fort Lauderdale Division.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Virgin Galactic Misrepresented Financials Pumping Up Stock Price, Says Investor Class Action Lawsuit
• Do You Qualify: GEICO Data Breach Claim Review
• Financial Consultants ‘Kept Heads in the Sand’ While Profiting Off Horwitz Ponzi Scheme, Class Action Lawsuit Claims
• Do You Qualify: Text Message Opt-Out Violations Class Action Lawsuit Claim Review