Estate Planning

Estate Planning and Fraudulent Seminars

By David M. Goldman

It seems like ever few months we hear about another company who provides living trust seminars to the public and scares them into purchasing unnecessary trusts.

Another "Trust Mill" has been found guilty of practicing law without a licence by masquerading as qualified financial advisers, estate planners, lawyers, and paralegals to exploit and prey upon senior citizens with the creation and selling of unnecessary and often useless living trusts.

In this case The Estate Plan, a company operating in Texas and Arkansas, was hit with a $16 Million default judgment for fraud, unauthorized practice of law, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy.

Defendants named in the lawsuit are John R. Vermillion, John Vermillion and Associates LLC, CLA USA Inc., CLA USA Insurance Services, CLA Marketing, CLA Estate Services, CLA Insurance Services, Charles Loper Jr., Charles Loper III, Steven Morgan, Robert Reese and The Estate Plan Inc., Winning Strategies Marketing, Inc., Quest Staffing Group Inc., James E Bradshaw Jr, Joel Carson and Olaf Turek.

Full post as published by Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog on April 03, 2009 (boomark / email).