Ep 02: Identity Theft, Elder Abuse, and the Fake $500K Policy

Foreign. Welcome to Fraud Facts and Life Insurance with Agent Verified, the podcast that dives into the wild world of life insurance gone wrong. Every week, we peel back the curtain on real cases of financial chaos and help you spot the red flag before it's too late. We'll share what went wrong, why it happened, and how to protect yourself by working with the right agent. Hey, let's face it. These stories might have ended very differently if only they'd used agentverified.com. hey. Hey. Welcome back.

Welcome back to Fraud Facts and Life.

Insurance Agent Agent Barrett.

That's right, guys. Last time we left you hanging out on a cliff. What is going to be the result of this case?

People are crazy. No, but people are crazy crazy.

I don't mean people are crazy. I mean, they really are.

It really doesn't even take that much effort to do the right thing, like just do the right thing, ladies and gentlemen. But since they don't do the right thing, we want to share with you how to check it out. But basically, let's go.

Okay. Let's just go. Let's go. Okay, so. So this is what we. Where we ended last week. So I'm going to start from the top.

Yeah, let's see.

We're going to start it from the top. All right, let's make it full screen. Here we go.

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Verified.Com A former Ohio insurance agent was arrested June 2 on federal charges alleging he defrauded dozens of victims in the Cincinnati and Dayton area and fraudulently obtained two Covid Paycheck Protections program loans. Seneca Birchmore of Cincinnati lost his license as an insurance agent in 2019 because he was writing insurance policies for people who did not want them so that he could collect. According to court documents, after losing his license, Birchmore then stole the identities of two other insurance agents and used those identities to write more life insurance policies for customers who did not want them. It is alleged Birchmore had the commissions from dozens of local customer victims deposited into his own bank accounts. Local law enforcement departments received complaints from victims that money was being automatically withdrawn from their bank accounts for insurance policies they never ordered. Many of the victims are senior citizens, and most reside in Dayton, Englewood, Middletown, and Cincinnati. It is also alleged that in a separate scheme, Birchmore fraudulently obtained two Covid Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling more than $40,000. Birchmore allegedly claimed on both loan applications that he owned a business in his name and stated his gross income for 2019 was more than $13 million. It is alleged that no such business exists. Fraud in connection with emergency benefits is a federal crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Social Security fraud carries a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison, and aggravated identity theft includes a mandatory two years of imprisonment.

The moral of the story is, you should always make sure that your life insurance agent is verified on agentverified.com. if you need a life insurance agent, choose from thousands of agents and brokers by visiting www.agentverified.com. agent verified. Licensed, insured, verified.

Betsy Bar Javar.

Oh, my word. There's so much to unpack.

It's so this.

I'm just like, what?

I mean, wow.

I mean, the ones we talked about last week were bad, but this is like a whole new. Oh, my goodness. Okay. All right, let's take it from the top.

All right. This is brought to you by agentverified.com.

A former Ohio insurance agent was arrested June 2 on federal charges alleging he defrauded dozens of victims in the Cincinnati and Dayton area and fraudulently obtained two Covid Paycheck protections program loans. Seneca Birchmore of Cincinnati lost his license as an insurance agent.

The great thing is that he lost his license.

I mean, thank.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ohio State of Insurance. It's like, okay, the license is no more. Okay, that's good.

But that didn't stop him.

Like, he was like, a license.

I don't need a license. I don't need a license.

Oh, my goodness. Okay, so why is agent verified important, Javon?

Yes, agent verified was definitely important right here. Because we double check to make sure that they are licensed.

That they are. Like, yeah, because remember one time we had someone try and come on the platform and was like, yeah, I'm gonna bring out all these people. Dude wasn't even licensed. Like, he didn't pass. I mean, because we were, like, talking to him. Yeah, it was great. And then he couldn't even get on. He was like, oh, can't you just get me on? Like, no, dude, this is an actual verification platform. Like, these are. These are outside verification.

So people try.

People try. You know what? They. They're gonna shoot their shot, aren't they? They're gonna shoot their shot. Okay, let's see what happens next.

Because he was writing insurance policies for people who did not want them so that he could collect the commissions. According to court documents, after losing his license, Birchmore then stole the identities of two other insurance agents and used those identities to write more life insurance policies for customers who do not want them.

I. I just feel like we should Just sit here for a minute. Okay, so the guy. So he. He's an agent. He goes around writing policies that people don't want or didn't even know that they signed up for. Okay? Then he gets found out, license taken away, and then he goes and defrauds two other agents.

Like. Like, care. Does not care. Like, he just allegedly doesn't care.

So. Okay, so, you know, thinking about, hey, how can I protect myself against someone like this? So, guys, when you get your life insurance documents from your agent, the name of your agent should match the name on the document. Like always. If it doesn't, that's a. That's a major red flag. Like the person writing you the insurance policy, that person's name needs to be on the document, right? Like, that's. If their name is not on the document, then that's a. That's a phone call to the. That. That's a major red flag. Like, let's, you know, reach out, call the carrier. Hey, someone's. Someone's trying to do the wrong thing. You know, like, that's how. That's how we know that stuff like this comes about. Right? So if you. If you're not sure how to get ahold of the commissioner, like the insurance commissioner, like, call the carrier, they will shut that down because they. They will absolutely shut it down. So that's one huge way that you can protect yourself from a case like this is if. Yeah. If the insurance agent that you're talking to, if their name doesn't match up with the name that's on the documents. But you know, Javon, I just realized he might have been impersonating them.

Good point.

He could have been impersonating them because.

If he was able to get the. Their commissions rerouted to his bank account, then why not? So what's another way, if you're more comfortable with doing Zoom, right, Checking their agent verified, checking their picture, and hopping on Zoom or FaceTime to be able to conduct the transaction would be a good one here.

Yeah, I know a lot of. A lot of clients, and I personally, I just like to do Zoom because I tell my. I tell my clients. Like, I want you to be able to see me. I want you to know who I am. No, I'm not, you know, some random person. I'm going to share with you. My agent verified, you know, all that stuff. And I do it not because I'm trying to make things difficult for the client, but I truly want that to be transparent. And so sometimes I know client, like, for my agents, they'll get pushback. Like, no, let's just do it over the phone. It's too much of a hassle to try. Zoom or FaceTime is so easy, and there's so many other really, really simple ways. Even just a simple thing of, like, hey, let's just get on. Get on a video chat just for even, like, three to five minutes, just so that you can see that person. You can check their picture against the agent verified profile. Like, that's just important for you as the client. Like, it's to protect you. Like that. That's to protect you. And, you know, the insurance that you're putting in place to protect your family. So. Yeah, I know. Hey, we're. And listen, y', all, like, we're not judging what you look like. Like, yeah, maybe don't be in the bathroom. Yeah, maybe don't be in the bathroom. Java's got fun story that maybe don't be in the bathroom and, you know, like, have clothes on. But let's just, you know, we want to see you and then let you see our. Our face. We can. We'll. We'll look.

I promise not to be in the bathroom.

Yeah. Okay, well, so let's. Let's see. Let's see what else this guy did.

It is alleged Birchmore had the commissions from dozens of local customer victims deposited into his own bank.

That's crazy.

Local law enforcement departments received complaints into.

His own bank accounts.

Commission, change form.

I mean, change form. But, you know, those have gotten so much more stringent lately, and it's probably because of people like him. Like, you can't just. You have to submit, like, bank documents and. And all that stuff. So, I mean, this could. I mean, yeah, there are people out there that are crazy, but there's lots of ways that you can protect yourself. And, you know, again, just verifying who the person is, checking that everything lines up with their picture and who they are on. On agent verified. Because, y', all, they can't get on unless they're an actual agent, unless they do that biometric verification with the driver's license. And so it's like, if we don't. If they don't have that, then you could be like, hey, let's push. The pause breaks. This is. Something's not right here.

Points from victims that money was being automatically withdrawn from their bank accounts for insurance policies they never ordered. Many of the victims are senior citizens.

Okay, sorry, real quick. Here's what I loved the most about this video, though, is the people complained.

Yep.

Yeah, like, way to go. Way, like, they didn't feel like, oh, money's being withdrawn for an insurance policy. I guess I just forgot. No, they said, hey, I never got this policy. And they called and they complained. And so it's like, speak up. Don't be afraid to speak up. It's. It's your money. It's your. Your bank account.

And it's really confusing out there, Betsy. It's really confusing because, you know, I promise you, I probably have one or two transactions that I just let go because I don't even know where to call. Right? And they spoke up. So he went after a community that every dollar probably matters, and they did not just, you know, close their account. They called and complained and made noise, and they started seeing multiple. And that's awesome.

I know. Good for them. Good for you guys.

And most reside in Dayton, Englewood, Middletown, and Cincinnati. It is also alleged that in a separate scheme, Birchmore fraudulently obtained two Covid Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling more than $40,000. Birchmore allegedly claimed on both loan applications that he owned a business in his name and stated his gross income for 2019 was more than $13 million.

That sounds nice.

You rob people for their commissions, and then I own a 13 million million.

Man. You know, again, we can't do anything about the ppp, fraudulence and stuff, but, like, you know, it's just crazy the lengths that people will go to when there's so many. There's so many of us that are doing the right thing. So don't let these bad apples spoil it for you. That's why we're. We're exposing the bad apples, because there's so many good agents out there that are so ready to help you and your family. And. And that's why we have agent verified. Because, like, go to agent verified.com, find the people that have your best interest at heart and work with them. Work with them. So you. You're not. You're not.

In these stories, it is alleged that no such business exists. Fraud in connection with emergency benefits is a federal crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Social Security fraud carries a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison, and aggravated identity theft includes a mandatory two years of imprisonment.

The moral of the story is you should always make sure that your life insurance agent is verified on agentverified.com. if you need a life insurance agent, choose from thousands of agents and brokers by visiting ww.agentverified.com agent verified, licensed, insured.

Wow. Yeah, that was, again, all electric. That Was a. That was deep. So good. Fine. And wow.

Absolutely. And you know what's encouraging too, Spencer, is that, you know, when agents are found out and found to be doing things that are wrong and that are defrauding their clients, like, there are repercussions for that, you know, and so don't be afraid to speak up. Like, if someone's doing the wrong thing, they need to be held accountable. And so. Yep. Love that. All right, well, time to go pay a few bills and then we'll be right back. So we'll see you in just a minute. Buying life insurance is a big deal. You're protecting your family, your home, your future. But here's the truth. Not all agents are created equal. That's why smart shoppers use agent verified. We screen and verify life insurance agents so you can trust the person who's working with you. Background check. Licensed legit. Before you buy, verify@agentverify.com agent verified. Because your trust should be earned. Okie dokie. We are back. Okay, so now after all of that fraud, let's. Let's have. Let's have some encouraging stories. Pretty negative, right? It's like, oh, my goodness. Okay, so how your week went, Betsy? Who did you help this the week, man, we had a great week in the agency. Actually. It was super cool. I don't know whether to talk about this with agency building or now, but I'm gonna talk about it now because we were able to help a client. So I've got a newer agent, and she's been working super hard. She's been dialing, you know, working to connect with their leads, and was. Was helping a lady. Went to. Got in touch with the lady. Lady had some health issues and, you know, was concerned about. Really concerned about her retirement. All right. That's what she was mainly concerned about. And so we actually got. Got the newer agent connected with one of our more senior agents in the agency, and he helped her work with this client. They talked to them. Talked to the. The family as well, to the son. Like, because, you know, when you're talking about protecting your family and protecting your future, like, I love it when. I love it when clients bring in their family members because they need to be able to, like, walk through, hey, yeah, what is life going to look like when mom retires and there's not enough money? You know, like, kids are concerned about that, you know, and so it might.

Be their future bill.

Right? Their future bill. Or, you know, their future housemate. Like, there's a lot of, you know, there's a lot that can go into that. So yeah, this, this more senior agent on my team. He brought in the family member like, and just worked up an amazing plan for this lady to be able to retire in 20 years and she's not going to have to. And here's what she specifically said, Javon. I don't want to work at, have to work at Walmart as a greeter when I'm retiring. Like she said, I, I walk into Walmart and I see the people that are there and I don't want to have to do that right now. She works for Department of Defense. She's got a good job, you know, but she's just concerned about, about her retirement and her future. So yeah, she's in her 40s and we were like, man, this is a great time for it, you know. So we got her set up with a tax free retirement plan, which is awesome. And so she's, she's like, oh my goodness, I'm not gonna have to worry about retirement. Like they, they came back and were calling me and we hopped on a zoom together. They were telling me all about it. So, so excited. That just made, it just made me so excited like to be like. And that was. So the newer agent, she'd never seen that kind of like all, you know, actually happen. And oh my gosh, she was on fire. She was like, I need to help more people do this. Like, yes, yes you do. So it was pretty awesome. So yeah, that was, that was, I mean, lots of, lots of wins. But that one really stood out this week. What about for you?

Wasn't from me personally. So that's the kind of trying to figure out how involved, but I wasn't personally involved, but one of my agents helped his son with setting up a retirement. Yes. And, and that one, that one was a little bit because it was like dad helping the son. I don't think he's quite 30 yet. Oh, he's like right newly 30. But the numbers came up to like 750amonth. Was pushed out to have like a six figure retirement income.

Wow.

Yeah. With the, with the annuities because he had 401ks and he just was losing. He was losing money every quarter.

Oh my gosh.

Losing money every quarter.

People are losing money right now. It's crazy. Is insane.

So dad, he felt, I think he felt like big muscles came in. He's new, so he didn't do it, but he helped. A senior agent helped with that as well. And they did the group work about three weeks and they just find it and then Betsy, they submitted it. Okay, approved right there.

What?

What?

Okay, that's amazing.

Approved, right? Approved.

So now it's, so now it's like it's in effect.

It's an effect. And then they're working on transferring the, the IRA over so that they're going to have that. So I was able to sit back and, and I, I got it from the new agent, but it was more dad like wow, like my son's gonna be set because he has a 30 year window and this tax free retirement account. He's already, you know, a lot of 30 year olds, they don't think that their money is going into the market for loss. They just think that they're putting it away. Well this, you know, they just think, oh, it's going to be there until you start getting those statements that it's going backwards and then it goes up and then it goes backwards and it goes up. Right. So it's like it just went too far backwards for his liking. And then when dad learned about all the products that we offer and sat there on it and introduced it, it was a no brainer. So I was able to, I wasn't so on to that. I helped couple families, but it was not on the tax free retirement side quite yet. More legacy building, but just, just definitely saw that bright eye. But it was more of a, a proud papa moment as well.

I think that's, that's so special when we, when we see. I mean I love being, I love being able to protect my family. Put that into place for my kiddos. Okay. Actually I got, so I gotta tell you something funny about my boys tax free retirement. So for, for those of you that are listening, like what is a tax free retirement? So the reason that it's tax free, putting money in from your income and it's already been taxed. So like once you've already paid tax, you have to pay tax.

You pay twice. Yeah, right.

You just gotta pay one. So you pay the tax and then you put it into the tax free retirement account. All the interest, everything that you're grow that you're getting, it's all tax free. Hello. That's pretty fun. And then when you hit retirement age, you can start pulling out money from that. And because, because you're not having to take taxes out and stuff from that. I mean people are getting thousands of dollars, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars.

I'm tripping, Betsy. I did, I, I set up two. I don't even know.

Of course you did. Okay. You set up two.

But it was, they were shoe store, they were $100 pieces. But they were for the kids.

They were for kids. Yep.

And I'm like, and yeah, the kids want. I, I, it wasn't like the adult like dad did it for, for his children.

Yeah.

And the funny thing is it was a classmate of mine and, oh, I've been, I've been tripping on him to like learn about it for years. And then he finally. But here's the cool part. He wrote the policies because he really just trusted me.

Okay.

But then the, and I sent them illustrations, but then the policies got approved and he says, can you just go over the illustration again? Just let me tell it to you so I can make sure. And then, and then he got it and he was like, so at 50, my, my kids can get 40, $50,000 a year for the rest of their life. And I was like, yeah. He says, and, and then just like every person we do this with, what is the next thing they say, how.

Can I do this?

That's one. And the other one, the other one.

Is how come I never knew about this?

And why can't. What if they would have did this for us when we were growing up?

Oh my word, wouldn't that have been amazing?

Everyone we do this with takes a look back at their parents and say, why didn't you do this for me when we were growing up? Because I would love to have 20, $30,000 a year dropping regardless of anything that's going around. So.

Yeah, but that's okay. Hey, I got, okay, so I gotta tell you, so my son, one of our kids, John Allen, their school does little scholarships. At the end of the year they have a really great pta. And so the kids that earned the top in each class, like they get, they actually get money. So John Allen won it for two of his classes. So he gets, so anytime he earns like scholarship or money, he won like something else earlier in the year. So we let him keep 20% of it and then the rest of it goes into his tax free retirement. So he doesn't, I mean he's, he's 11. He doesn't love that. Right? So every time we do it, I have to pull the illustration back out and say, okay, now look, John Allen, remember here we're putting, now we're putting this extra in. Look what this is gonna do when you hit 30, when you're 40, 50, all that. Oh, wow. So, so we actually show him the illustration.

I might need to do that.

This is how much? You're gonna, I mean, like he's, he's gonna, he's at like 80,000 when he retires a year. I'm like, oh, wow, I love you.

What?

That's a really good idea. I got a kid that's waiting for his allowance to hit PlayStation 5 round and I refused to pay for it. So he's now waiting for him to earn enough for the taxes. So we'll, we're like, you got enough for the PlayStation Now? You don't know. Taxes and the warranty.

They got it, you know, they got to earn it to see it. So we give them, you know, like three bucks a week as a, as an allowance and everything else goes into their tax return.

I gotta try that. I, I, that's a good one. That is really good because I don't, I don't fund this like that. I just pull it out of my account. But I like that. And then take the illustration. He'll probably be trying to take the money out of the illustration and be like, can I get this yet? Like, oh my God, no.

Thankfully mama still owns that until for the next little while.

That's awesome.

Awesome. Well, guys, so hopefully that helps you understand a little bit about tax free retirement. Why we get super excited about it, why even our kids are getting excited about it. But yeah, so we will. We'll be back in just a minute here with another fraud story. Need extra income, but don't want another dead end side gig. The Aloha program lets you earn from home on your time with real support and real results as a virtual life insurance agent. No fluff, just training leads and a system that works. Ready to boost your income the smart way. Apply now at www.thealoha program.com the Aloha Program. Make more matter more. All right, well, here we are. Okay, Spence, are we ready for another one?

I don't think I'm ever ready for.

Another fraud story, but okay, but let's, let's do it. That's what we're here for. We gotta help people know what, what is out there. We gotta help them know how to protect themselves. Okay, so here we go.

Who's the brave soul?

I'm kind of nervous. I'm kind of nervous because I don't know what ones we're gonna be watching.

This is brought to you by agentverified.com.

Former insurance agent Allen Douglas Armstrong was arraigned today on five felony counts of theft from an elder. This, this comes after Armstrong allegedly acted as a financial adviser and licensed insurance Agent to steal over $47,000 from elderly clients. The California Department of Insurance began an investigation after being contacted by a family member of one of Armstrong's clients when they learned their elderly parents had withdrawn cash on 12 separate occasions from several annuities to personally loan Armstrong more than $47,000. The investigation also found Armstrong convinced his clients to withdraw funds from one annuity and then, months later, purchase a new annuity, hiding that the source of funds was from a terminated annuity, resulting in his clients incurring more than $24,000 in surrender charges. To hide his alleged scheme, Armstrong provided a life insurance policy number to his clients as financial collateral, where he listed them as beneficiaries on a $500,000 policy which did not actually, actually exist. He also made numerous false claims regarding the return on their investment, including making more than their money back on huge losses incurred by multiple surrender charges on their existing annuities. Armstrong was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff, and bail was set at $102,500. The Department of Insurance revoked his license in March. The case is being prosecuted by the San Bernardino County District Attorney's office office.

The moral of the story is you should always make sure that your life insurance agent is verified on agentverified.com if you need a life insurance agent, choose from thousands of agents and brokers by visiting ww.agentverified.com agent verified. Licensed, insured, verified.

Betsy.

This one floored me. Not gonna lie. Wow, this one's really bad. Like, they're all bad.

This is brought to you by agent verified.com.

Former insurance agent Alan Douglas Armstrong was arraigned today on five felony counts.

Counts of theft. Right there. And yet there's more. Okay, I mean, like, I feel like you could just edit there. Like, he was arraigned on five felony counts.

Theft from an elder. This comes after Armstrong allegedly acted as a financial advisor and licensed insurance agent to steal over $47,000 from elderly clients.

Like, that's just scum. Like, I want to say so much. Like, wow. Like, we're talking about. We're talking about our kid at, you know, 12 and 19 and John L. 13 being able to set for retirement. But he's going after people that work their whole freaking lives and every dollar counts and just no fiduciary.

And they think, whoo, we're finally protected. Oh, we finally did it. And it's probably been weighing on them. And then now he's just straight up stealing from these people.

Just, oh, okay, no.

Okay, so here we go.

The California Department of Insurance began an investigation after being contacted by a family member of one of Armstrong's clients when they learned their elderly parents had withdrawn cash on 12 separate occasions from several annuities to personally loan armstrong More than $47,000.

What?

Why on earth.

I've never.

I can't even. Like, I'm trying to get a frame of mind for this. How.

Borrow money, okay?

From a client, from a. From an annuity.

Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, never ever loan your life insurance agent or your financial advice loan money ever.

Like, they. That. That just crosses so many professional boundaries. Like, it's wrong. Like, it's just so wrong. And if someone's trying to convince you and make you feel bad, like, they are in the wrong. They're in the wrong. Absolutely. They're in the wrong. So, like, there's no. Nothing that they should be able to say to convince you, like, it's just wrong. Don't do it. And if you don't feel. If you don't feel like you're able or strong enough to, like, kind of do something, say about, like, grab a. Grab a family member, grab a friend, grab someone else. They can help you. You know, just say, no, we're not going to do that. Because I promise you, if someone else was in the mix and that guy knew that someone else was there, he. He would back off. Like, people like this are looking for. They're looking for, you know, targets of people that they think they can get away with it. So as soon as they know they can't get away with it, they'll go try and target someone else. All right? But this is why we're here. We don't want you to be targeted. We don't want you to be, man. Losing money from your annuity. Like, the whole reason you put money into an annuity is to protect it from market loss, but just from loss in general, especially loss from your life, from your own. Oh, that just gives me a sick feeling of a mouth.

Oh, crazy.

And 40. It's not like, it's a little bit. $47,000 and they withdrew 12 times from their annuity. Like, there's so many red flags coming up here. You guys like, no, just. Just know that should not. Don't let that be. You reach out, say something. None of this is right. And if some. If you're in the middle of a situation like this right now where someone's pressuring you and telling you that, oh, no, this is normal. It is not normal. Like, it is not normal, you. You're Right to speak up.

The investigation also found Armstrong convinced his clients to withdraw funds from one annuity and then months later purchase a new annuity, hiding that the source of funds was from a terminated annuity, resulting in his clients incurring more than $24,000 in surrender charges.

Okay, so let's talk about that just for a minute. Jamon, I know we talked about, you know, tax free retirements earlier, but, you know, annuities are, annuities are very highly regulated, right? Like there's people that specialize in annuities, and I can write annuities, but I usually refer my annuities to go to someone that's an absolute expert in it because I never want my client to be in a, in something, you know, in any kind of position because I didn't know about, you know, one specific rule or something like that, you know, so it's, it's always best to go with an annuity with someone that, like, hey, this is their, like this is the depths of what they do, right? And because when you're, you know, the questions that they ask on the forms are going to be like, hey, where does this money come from? Where is your other money? Like, hey, how long have you had money in this type of an account? And so when I've filled out applications, you know, for my clients, when I, when I have done annuities, you know, people are like, man, this is really getting, this is really getting deep in the weeds about my finances. And they're doing it to make sure that me as the agent, that I'm doing the right thing for my clients, you know. And so, you know, after I did a couple, and of course they got issued and everything's great, but I just realized, you know, as I started getting clients with, with larger amounts of money and just kind of wanting to do some more intense things, I was like, hey, let me bring in an expert to really just support my client to make sure that their money is in the best possible position. And, and so the fact that he's telling them we're going to hide the fact that it was from another annuity, you know, like if you're in an, if you're in your application and your insurance agent says something like, oh, well, you know, we can just, we don't have to put that there. Let's just not put that on there. Like, that's a red flag, okay? Because they're trying to hide something and they're probably trying to hide it so that they can get more money in their pocket, right? Like, you want to be scrupulously honest on these insurance applications, because if not, you could be the one at risk after it happens. And now here, this couple lost $24,000 in surrender charges because I promise you, if they, if, if they had put. Okay, no, this was from another annuity. Guess what? The. The other company wouldn't let them transfer because it's like they're trying to make sure that you, the client, are protected in all of these transactions. And so when your insurance agent is trying to say, oh, well, let's just. Let's just not put that, or let's just not include that, like, you're the one at risk for that. So don't, don't let someone try and sweet talk you into saying, oh, it's, it's just going to be easier. It's going to go through Master.

To hide his alleged scheme, Armstrong provided a life insurance policy number to his clients as financial collateral, where he listed them as beneficiaries on a $500,000 policy which did not actually exist.

Oh, my gosh. Like, even, like, out of all the money he's taking, at least get a real life insurance policy in case you do die. Like, you don't even. You don't even get a real policy to even pay for the fraud. At least, like, if I die, you at least get all your. Like.

How would he be able to do that? Okay, can you imagine? Okay, who. What is your relationship to the beneficiaries? These are my life insurance clients I'm defrauding. That's why he couldn't get a real policy, because the company would be like.

No, this is crazy on all levels.

This is so great. But I actually, I mean, I'm glad we're talking about this way. Okay. Okay. I just want. Because all the parts of the policy application are important. They're there to protect the client, you know, even the beneficiaries.

He also made numerous false claims regarding the return on their investment, including making more than their money back on huge losses incurred by multiple surrender charges on their existing annuities. Armstrong was arrested by the Orange. Orange County Sheriff.

Okay, well, tell them, John. Where can they find real information about.

Their returns from the carriers? Go straight to the carriers for your illustrations and get it from them.

Right. And you can do it with your agent, but have them, like, this is where you want to be on Zoom Share screen. Like, it's not just your agent saying, oh, let me make up a number. But no, let's Share screen. Let's go into the portal I'll show you where to how to read the application and the returns. But get it from the carrier, not from. Not from. Just from your agent.

Bail was set at $102,500. The Department of insurance revoked his license in the case is being prosecuted by the San Bernardino County District Attorney's office.

Bad.

Can you believe that one is. That one was crazy.

And I love like when I deal with annuities, I too just bring in the experts, you know. I know enough to. To find it. I actually just helped my aunt who just transferred from one job to another one and she wanted to grab that. I was able to take 60,000 $401k and it'll be over 200 that like. And guess what? I still brought in someone to just go over the application with a fine tooth comb because guess what? I would still have to see my aunt every if anything like for the rest of my life. Right.

So remember last week's one. They were. He was defrauding the family.

His own family. Oh my gosh, not this family. So. But 47, 000 from elderly guys. Hopefully you picked up some cool tips on what to look out for. And again guys, we're just bringing up that there are a few bad apples in the bunch, but we're showing you because if we love to get them out of here because it will make our life a lot easier. So. All right, let's pay some bills and see you here shortly. Life insurance is one of the most impactful choices you'll ever make. And it usually begins with a single conversation. But before you talk policies or premiums, ask yourself this. Do I truly know who this agent is? Agent verified sets the bar for confirming the identity and credentials of licensed life insurance professionals. Every agent on our platform is verified through a rigorous process including ID checks, active license validation and facial recognition. So when you connect through agent verified, you're not just getting a name. You're getting peace of mind. No mystery, no guesswork. It's fast, secure, and built to protect families like yours. Before you hand over your trust, make sure they're agent verified. Real professionals, real credentials verified for your protection.

Well, Mr. Javon, what's going on in the Spencer Agency? Agency this week?

Oh, my goodness, Betsy, I'm. I'm getting. I'm getting gray hair now. We are. We are. We're hiring like literally so many, so many agents. We have more leads than we know what to do with and we're hiring agents all. Like, I have to prepare because all of a sudden I have more Agents from the west coast than ever before. Right.

And you love working in different time zones.

Oh, my goodness. Right.

I moved to Hawaii from Tennessee and we were both. Because Spencer's in South Carolina. We were both in eastern time zone. Now I'm in Hawaii.

It was a disaster. It was horrible. Well, now, so, like, so, yeah, yesterday I opened up my interview and. And there's 16 people waiting to come in. And I'm like, okay, how can I scare these people? Because I only want the best. I like, how can I scare them out? Really have some really, really good folks. I'll be honest, it was really shocking to see these folks coming in and I asked them about the. Which program. What you want? Do you want the traditional broker program where, you know, everything is on you and we just mentor and we show you how to spend, you know, your resources to make the biggest return on investment, or do you want to have us put some skin in the game and we split everything with the Take Flight program. Everyone chose Take Flight except for one. One pro. Yeah. One was broker because he's been added and he wants to come and go as he pleased. So it was perfect, perfect fit. Getting everyone squared away, getting them ongoing. Got some contracts approved by. By our parent company so far, and super excited. And my phone's all over the place. And agents coming. You know, it's funny because I'm on Tick Tock at agents trumping in from Tick Tock and all the different job boards. So, you know, they tell us not to name our favorites until they do something, but I'm. I'm just. I'm not naming anyone. I'm just excited.

Yeah, you're not gonna name anyone?

No, I'm not naming anyone because that's just the one that I'll be like, oh, you know, so, yeah, guys, you know, I always tell them, like, we're looking for gladiators. I am looking for the gladiators of the world. And you can be in any state actually in. In this country, be any state, as long as you're able to pass and get your insurance license and, you know, 14 days. So super excited about them. How about you guys? What's you been? How's your week been?

Yeah, we had. We had a lot of people coming in. We've got four agents that are also building this week, which is pretty exciting. So love seeing, you know, hearing them get excited about their new agents and getting them on board. But one that really stuck out to me this week is, you know, you guys have to take flight. We have the Aloha program. Because, you know, we're in Hawaii, so why not call it the Aloha Program even though it's for everybody, right? Actually, so I did have one agent that's from Hawaii. She's living in. She's living in Japan, like, right now, but she's coming back to Hawaii in just a month or so. So when one of my agents called her for the interview, and he's in Atlanta, and she was like, you're in Georgia. I thought I would be talking to someone on Oahu. So that was pretty funny. But so I had one agent that was the. After our overview time, we had a great overview. They were asking, like, all these questions in one state after and was talking with me, just saying, like, hey, I've been an agent for a while. I've been successful. You know, I've tried different programs where, you know, I go in and they say they've got support, they say they've got mentorship, they say they've got training, they say they have leads. And so. But I was in one program earlier this year, and I got six leads in three months. And I was like, that sounds awful. Like, what? I was like. So you know what I told him? I was like, I'm gonna be super honest with you, sir. I know that there are people in the industry that don't have enough lead, you know, and for those of you listening, like, leads are how we reach out and talk to clients. Like, we don't expect our agents to, like, go out and bother their family and friends and, you know, become the nuisance at the family picnic that nobody wants to talk to. Right? So, you know, and I was like, but we. We've not had a problem with leads for four and a half years. Like, we. We've just. We don't have that. That's not a problem that we have. And so I said, I know that that probably sounds. That depending on your situation, that may sound strange to you, but you're. You're. That's just the reality of where we are. And then I, you know, was showing him our training page. I was like, hey, here's the training that we've got. Here's the systems that we've got. And he was like, so all I have to do is come and plug in, and you've got everything there already. It's like, yep. So come on in. The Aloha is. Is fine.

Yeah. The new few agents were just shocked because obviously we don't tell them everything that, you know, who we are. So they're like, well, we started allocating leads, and it was so difficult to explain how we miss people, Right? We have so many leads that sometimes people get missed. You know, they miss an appointment. We try to reschedule them. We can't get them back on the phone, but they still want life insurance. We. I just. I'm just, you know, husband, father, business owner, life. This time, you have to rest. Sometimes people get missed. So that's why we need more agents, guys. We need more agents because we. The leads keep coming in. People keep raising their hands saying, I need help. I need help. Can you help me? Can you help me? And then life happens. So when I showed them that, they were like, oh, my goodness. And we.

We literally. I mean, we've worked pretty hard over the last few years. I mean, I will work hard, but I literally cannot help all the people that are requesting help. And so that's why. That's why we got to keep building a team, you know, and building, you know, bringing on people that have a heart to help others. You know, we're always looking for the right people, you know, that have. That are. They're doing this for the right reasons. Right?

Yeah. So if you want the take flight program, come find me on agent verify.

If you want the aloha program, just a little friendly competition. I love it.

Let's head on out. But, yeah, all right.

We got one more for you. Okay. We're not gonna show the whole thing. All right. But this one's. This one's kind of a doozy, and then we'll talk about it next time. Are you ready?

I'm ready. I'm never ready, ever.

I don't know.

They can't be ready for this one. It's. It's. It's a doozy.

Okay.

All right, here we go.

This is brought to you by agentverified.com.

A federal grand jury in Chicago has charged 23 defendants with participating in a fraud scheme through which they allegedly swindled 10 life insurance carriers out of at least 26 million in fraudulent benefits. The defendants submitted fraudulent applications to obtain life insurance policies in the names of various individuals and then induced the carriers to pay death benefits by knowingly misrepresenting the identity of a different deceased person as the insured.

Oh, my.

God. See you next time.

See you next time. Don't miss it.

Wow. Don't miss it. All right, we'll see you guys. Thanks for tuning in to fraud, facts and life insurance with agent verified. Peace.

Peace.

Thanks for listening to fraud, facts and life insurance. With agent verified. If this episode made you double check your policy or your agent head over to agentverified.com to find someone you could trust. Trust. We'll be back next week with more fraud stories, facts and ways to protect what matters most. So stay smart, stay safe, and always verify your life insurance. Agent.