Comments on: Reverse Mortgage Broker Sent to Prison for Defrauding Senior

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:08:00 +0000

What do guys prefer to be first, geriatric psychologists or financial advisers?nOr, both. That’s where you are heading. In lieu of that, I would suggest doing what the lotteries do; pay out in the form of an annuity (or tenure). This is unfortunately a product flaw (lump sum payout) and will always attract predators to potential victims of any age. More paper work and check off forms won’t help much. What may help, is tracking of the money to ensure it, at least initially, goes into the right pocket, preferably wired to a monitored checking account. And, after that large payments out should be by wire only (ask the lawyers, I think that is federal) and perhaps monitored for any “inappropriate usage”.

By: dduck12

dduck12 — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:08:17 +0000

What do guys prefer to be first, geriatric psychologists or financial advisers?
Or, both. That's where your heading. In lieu of that, I would suggest doing what the lotteries do; pay out in the form of an annuity (or tenure). This is unfortunately a product flaw (lump sum payout) and will always attract predators to potential victims of any age. More paper work and check off forms won't help much. What may help, is tracking of the money to ensure it, at initially, goes into the right pocket, preferably wired to a monitored checking account. And, after that large payments out should be by wire only (ask the lawyers, I think that is federal) and perhaps monitored for any “inappropriate usage”.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:07:00 +0000

rnSome seniors canu2019t handle their money correctly. Cognitive impairment is a by product of aging. Not all seniors suffer from it, but a substantial amount do. Professions need to be aware that some of their client, while they appear to be u201cwith itu201d, actually are impaired to the degree where they can not adequately comprehend the suitability of their transactions. I recommend the reading of The Orbitolfrontal Cortex, Real-World Decision Making, and Normal Aging study (which can be found by googling u201cThe Orbitolfrontal Cortex, Real-World Decision Making, and Normal Agingu201d) This is a study out of USC and the University of Iowa that found that a sizeable subset of older adults (approximately 35u201340%) perform disadvantageously on a laboratory measure of decision making that closely mimics everyday life, by the manner in which it factors in reward, punishment, risk, and ambiguity. These same poor decision makers display defective autonomic responses (or somatic markers), reminiscent of that previously established in patients with acquired prefrontal lesions. The study concludes that poor decision makers are more likely to fall prey to deceptive advertising, suggesting compromise of real-world judgment and decision-making abilities.rnrn

By: prescottcole

prescottcole — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:07:10 +0000

Some seniors can’t handle their money correctly. Cognitive impairment is a by product of aging. Not all seniors suffer from it, but a substantial amount do. Professions need to be aware that some of their client, while they appear to be “with it”, actually are impaired to the degree where they can not adequately comprehend the suitability of their transactions. I recommend the reading of The Orbitolfrontal Cortex, Real-World Decision Making, and Normal Aging study (which can be found by googling “The Orbitolfrontal Cortex, Real-World Decision Making, and Normal Aging”) This is a study out of USC and the University of Iowa that found that a sizeable subset of older adults (approximately 35–40%) perform disadvantageously on a laboratory measure of decision making that closely mimics everyday life, by the manner in which it factors in reward, punishment, risk, and ambiguity. These same poor decision makers display defective autonomic responses (or somatic markers), reminiscent of that previously established in patients with acquired prefrontal lesions. The study concludes that poor decision makers are more likely to fall prey to deceptive advertising, suggesting compromise of real-world judgment and decision-making abilities.

By: The_Cynic

The_Cynic — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:05:29 +0000

Dave,

And I thought I was cynical.

By: nancyonreverse

nancyonreverse — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:28:20 +0000

The only complaint I have about this situation is that the headline should read “Securities Dealer Sent to Prison for Defrauding Senior” as that is the essence of what happened. I had a friend who invested with a local man who was a securities dealer, mortgage broker and real estate broker, became suspicious because the man told him some things that he knew I had told him different (as a mortgage originator) and he questioned me. The shame of it is there were thousands of investors and the guy only spent 12 years in jail. Then he sued the Court Appointed Trustee to get what was left of the assets back – and lost. But my friend still only got back about 12% of what he initially invested and one of the properties alone was worth over $1 million.

I'm glad the guy got caught and that the lady is getting her money back – eventually – but the black eye by the reporter to the RM industry is very misplaced as many people will read and remember the headline and not read the whole article as we did.

By: iluvrms

iluvrms — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:44:30 +0000

At the end of the day, we cannot dictate morality. Nobody can protect seniors 100% of the time. All we can do is be honest LO's. I have to agree with Critic in that it doesn't sound like there was a problem with the Reverse mortgage. Unfortunately, it still makes Reverses look bad to the outside world which is already filled with contempt for this product. I'd love to get ahold of Mr. McTaggart myself. What a jerk. Ultimately, though, it's the SENIOR's responsibility to handle their money correctly, and don't tell me they can't. Just because someone is old doesn't make them an idiot.

By: Louise321

Louise321 — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:40:49 +0000

Just a note for any other annuity salesmen. . . . The representative of the Office of the Inspector General for HUD who spoke at the NRMLA convention stated that any reverse mortgage where all the proceeds are taken out is being reviewed by the IG's investigators. Originators, that means that you should be clear with your borrowers as to the benefits and drawbacks of withdrawing all that cash at one time. If they are paying off a large mortgage, there is no problem understanding the need. Just be aware that Big Brother will be reviewing everything, and, considering the thief who just got sentenced and the others like him, there is good reason for the collective “him” to be looking over our shoulder.

While I agree with Mr. Nelson that Bernie “Made-off ” and other Wall Street crooks who have not been caught should be held to at least the same standard, the Wall Street standard at its essence is legalized gambling — you either know how to play the system or you don't — ergo there are winners and losers. Of course, now that the free market system is shifting, knowledge is relative thing. I am hearing what are thought of as revelations on the part of current economists that in the past (and not THAT distant a past) were considered as a basic understanding of our economic system.

“We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.”

George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950)