Litigation

NSSTA Scandal as Member Creates Structured Settlements AND Secretly Acts As "Cash Now Pusher"!!!!

By John Darer

In a scandal that is sure to rock the structured settlement industry, I regret to inform you that a member of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA) has been discovered to create structured settlements while simultaneously acting as a "cash now pusher".

The facts:

1. Christopher J. Seeley of Springfield Massachusetts is an affiliate of Summit Settlement Services according to the Summit Settlement Services website as of January 4, 2009.
2. Christopher J. Seeley is listed as a member of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA), as of January 4, 2009, according to the NSSTA website Download Christopher Seeley NSSTA member
3. Christopher J. Seeley holds himself out both as a member of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA) AND as someone who places tort victims into structured settlements.
4. The Summit Settlements website lists Christopher J. Seeley's address as 1500 Main Street Springfield , MA, the same address as "cash now pusher" Northeast Settlement Funding, according to the Whois records for the URL www.northeastsettlementfunding.com. Download CoolWhois.com - WHOIS searc..
5. There is no difference between the email addresses that Seeley uses to conduct his structured settlement business and the one that is listed in the Domain registration for "cash now pusher" Northeast Settlement Funding as set forth in the registration with GoDaddy.com and appearing in the Whois record.
   
6. Northeast Settlement Funding comes up in prominent positions on sponsored ads which appear on Internet search results for the keywords "structured settlements". Download Seeley-Cash Now Pay Per Click Structured Settlements.
7. Northeast Settlement Funding advertises that it offers cash now in exchange for structured settlements
8. The Whois records for Northeast Settlement Funding website at www.northeastsettlementfunding.com registered through GoDaddy.com list Christopher Seeley as Administrative and Technical Contact.
9. Again the address is the same as the Summit Settlements listing for Christopher J. Seeley.
10. While the telephone numbers listed on the Summit Settlements website and the toll-free number on the Northeast Settlement Funding are different, they are BOTH connected to Seeley Investments.
11. There is no address listing or individual identified on the Northeast Settlement Funding website.

Comments and Questions

• The big question has to be  "WHAT IS THE National Structured Settlement Trade Association, its leadership and its membership GOING TO DO NOW? In my opinion they should act swiftly and decisively. Seeley's failure to disclose an apparent conflict of interest with regard to his membership in the NSSTA is unconscionable.
• The next question has got to be " Is this only the tip of the iceberg?". We ALREADY have in writing that 90% of the clients of Bentzen Funding Solutions (all of whom Rhonda Bentzen has stated are from the structured settlement industry) are on the take.
• Why didn't Seeley disclose these "cash now" services (as of 1/4/2009) to the public on the Seeley Investments website that is linked to Summit Settlement Services?
• Prior to the date of this post, has Seeley disclosed this activity to the management of Summit Settlement Services?
• Are judges approving structured settlements, where Seeley appears as structured settlement broker, or co-broker,aware of Northeast Settlement Funding and Seeley's relationship to it?
• What are the implications to defendants or defense attorneys where a settlement includes a confidentiality clause and there is a structured settlement that has been brokered or co-brokered by Christopher J. Seeley?
• What are the implications to plaintiff attorneys where a settlement includes a confidentiality clause and there is a structured settlement that has been brokered or co-brokered by Christopher J. Seeley?
• What duty do other structured settlement brokers have to disclose this information to their clients and as a matter of honor to the profession?
• Those "on the fence" with the structured settlement transparency initiative may wish to rethink their position in light of this new information.

Full post as published by Structured Settlements 4Real on January 04, 2009 (boomark / email).