The civil suit was filed Monday in Hennepin County District Court, alleging consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices. Calling Heritage a "living-trust mill," Swanson said it promised clients their legal documents would be prepared by an experienced estate-planning attorney.
But the clients ended up with boilerplate documents assembled by Dennis Lawrence, an Arizona man who's not licensed as a lawyer in Minnesota or Arizona. According to state law, only members of the Minnesota bar are permitted to prepare wills and trusts.
The trusts were full of problems and didn't suit individuals' situations, Swanson said. She said about 500 Minnesota households paid Heritage about $2,300 apiece -- or more than $1 million.
"They paid for a complicated trust, with an attorney, and that is not what they got," Swanson said. "(Heritage Partners') real goal is to get their foot in the door ... and then sell insurance products."
Gary and Penny Pietila of White Bear Lake responded to a Heritage flier and went to a local steakhouse for a free dinner and to find out about ways to pass on their assets after death. The speaker was Heritage's president and founder, insurance agent Anthony Friendshuh. What he had to say frightened Penny Pietila and, she said, "I fell for it, hook, line and sinker."
The couple ended up paying more than $2,000 for the trust document, but the health care and financial responsibilities they had laid out for their two daughters got fouled up, with all the weight put on one daughter's shoulders. They had a terrible time getting it straightened out, they said.
At the behest of the Heritage insurance agent, during 2012 and 2013, they also had moved much of their nest egg into annuities and were unhappy when the annual fee proved more costly than the interest the annuities earned.
"We were actually going south," Gary Pietila said.
During the dinners, Heritage Partners discussed estate planning, probate and trusts with senior citizens, Swanson said. Insurance agents set up appointments with attendees to try to convince them to buy legal services and investments.
Full Article and Source:
Minnesota AG Sues Estate Planning Service, Alleging Fraud
5 comments:
Beware! This type of scam is growing!
I'm so glad to see an AG step up!
Applause to Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson!!
Can we clone her? x 49?
And beware of ALL free lunches and dinners with estate planners, elder law attorney's etc.
Plants at the table sponging up your chit chat - worthwhile information and it could be used for future wrongful intentions.
People attend thinking 'heck, we'll just get a free meal and we won't give info blah blah ......'
Information is required to be admitted and then experts in extracting info in the room.
There are a VA benefit scouts out there with lawyers who require $10,000.00 for a trust - need 2 trust? $20,000.00.
Predators and the Prey- beware with eyes and ears wide open you are nothing but a $.
NASGA WI member is very wise.
My advice: Beware of free luncheons and dinners going with the intent of not releasing personal private information.
And keep in mind no free lunch for those who intend to attend as ANONYMOUS name, addresses etc. is collected before entering and know this: 'plants' at the tables, compiling information on YOU and those at the table talking about their personal lives - family relationships, trips, recent purchases, clues to those who are looking to profit is dangerous and risky in any public setting.
It is refreshing to see an honest Attorney General going after suspects within the Financial Services Industry, who hold the greatest of threats to the Elderly and Disabled within our society as people and Institutions of trust.
We often just refer to the banks and it is true that they are all intertwined, but it is the whole structure of the Fiance Industry that needs to be watched.
As the larger players like J P Morgan, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs often use investment advisers as buffers to sell there toxic financial products for them and use them as the patsy or fall guys in the game..!!!
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