Ep 15: $20K Fraud Case & Why a Tax-Free Retirement Beats a 401(k)

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 use agentverified.com. hey. Hey. Welcome back.

Welcome back, everybody. We are Betsy and Spencer here with Fraud Facts and Life Insurance with Agent Verified. And we're going to pick up where we were hearing about someone that was indicted by the grand jury. We're going to see what happens, and then we got some fun facts to share with you that are not quite as negative as all this fraud. But we want to make sure that you're educated so none of this happens to you. So let's dig in and see what happened with this grand jury insurance.

Agent accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a state farm agency in Mobile has been arrested again. Mobile County Sheriff's office arresting Thomas Burns at his business in Grand Bay this afternoon. It was after a grand jury indicted him on theft of property charges that stemmed from that initial arrest. In June, Burns is accused of stealing more than $20,000. Investigators say he wrote checks to himself while he was a manager at the branch. In October, a mix up at the DA's office caused a judge to drop the charge. After that, we're told the case would have gone to a grand jury and it'll now go through circuit court. Burns next hearing hasn't been set yet.

Wow.

Wow.

So 20 cr.

So this guy got caught, then he got off on a technicality, then he got caught again because he was. He kept doing it. Is that what I did? I understand that, right?

I. I can't. Agent verified.com. please just.

Well, if anything, if anything, what I love about this is it shows that the, the courts didn't give up, the police didn't give up. You're gonna be like, those people are being protected, which I love. Like, that's the whole point of this. But, yeah, go to Agent Verified. Check. Check the reviews, Check where they're. Check where they're licensed, check the carriers that they're doing all that stuff. But golly, you would think if you got arrested that you would maybe clean up your act. But I guess he thought he was like, well, hey, look, I got away with it. Let's see what else I can do right. And did you see a Kendrick one? It was for 20,000. I mean, like, I know a lot of money, but again, like, as a life insurance agent, you can literally make that in less than a month. And so you're doing all this fraudulent. It's. It's just stupid. You know, when I was growing up, Javon, we weren't allowed to say the word stupid. That was the S word. So I still sound bad saying it, but, like, really, that was stupid. Like, why would you. Why would you do that when you could literally just make that in less than a month? And now, now you're being indicted and cords and all that. That's stupid. I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry, mom, that I'm saying stupid. That's stupid. I'm very sorry about it. Life insurance is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make. And it often starts with a conversation. But before you speak with any agent, ask yourself one question. Do I really know who I'm talking to? Agent verified is the standard for verifying licensed life insurance professionals. Each agent on the platform is confirmed through their driver's license and insurance license and facial recognition technology. When you use AgentVerify, you know exactly who you're dealing with. No surprises, no second guessing. It's simple, it's secure, and it's the smart way to protect your family's future. Before you trust someone with your financial future, check if they're agent verified. Agent verified. Real people, real protection verified for you.

Well, tell us some good stuff. That any clients you've been helping.

Well, okay. Speaking of stupid. Now I just keep saying it on my word.

That's why.

That's why I got to help a client that made a very good. What's the opposite of stupid? That made a very wise choice. That's what we always talk about with our kids. Make a wise choice. This past week, I was working with one of my agents who was helping a client that said, hey, I really want. I've heard of how I can retire with life insurance, and it, like, helps with taxes. And so he'd seen some stuff online. So my agent had helped him. This was a newer agent, and so she wasn't, like, super well versed. She knew. She knew enough to be dangerous is kind of what we used to say. But so she said, hey, let me get you with. With Betsy, who I work with Betsy in her agency, and she can help you out. So got on the phone with the client, heard what they were. Heard what they were saying. So they said, hey, I'm 35. I've got this new job. I'm trying to decide what to do with this, this money that I've set aside now for retirement. So I said, awesome. What are you looking at? So 35 years old, got three kids, got a wife, and he's got $160. All right? A month to put away for retirement, you know, which is great. However much you've got, guys, start. If you're not saving for retirement, start with. Start somewhere, okay? And so I said, well, you know what? I said, you know what, sir? Let's do this. Let's do a comparison, okay? Because he was trying to decide, should I go put that into my company's 401k or should I do what I should? I learn more about cash value and use life insurance for retirement and for tech for retiring.

Let me get my drink. I know where this is going.

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That is wise. So, yeah, good job.

Our agency. And then that agent, she was so fired up, she was like, can you show, like, anyone what the comparison is? I was like, yeah, like, this, this is literally what I do.

This is literally what I do.

This is actually what I, I'm, I'm.

I'm. You know, you know, one thing that you, as you was telling that story, I was thinking, and this is totally unscripted as anything we do is unscripted, but do you remember early in the week when we met with our accountant and we were, and we were go ahead and decide to get on the. Do you remember her face? So, guys, we put you into our world. We were, we were meeting with our accountant and resetting up S Corps and all this stuff, and we're switching payroll processors. So we meet with this new payroll lady and she's like, oh, if you want to get set up with your retirement and 401k stuff, we can help with that. And Betsy says, oh, we're. We're in the. We're insurance agents. We already have our tax free retirement account set up, which we do. And her face was like, well, I guess you don't need my help with that. And it was like, what did you, did you see that?

I totally. And I mean, she was like, oh, yeah, you don't need my help with this.

You don't need my help with that. Like, guys, they know, like, we, like, we're not Just insurance agents. We're tax free retirement. Like, Like, I was like, when he said, I was like, are you. Why would I buy money in a 401k?

No, I bet, Hey, I been there, done that when I was teaching. We did that when we lived overseas. Like, we did that. I think I mentioned earlier, like, I wish I had known about this when I was 22 year old, Betsy. And like, there, there were so many, so many ways that my life would be different now and I would be further ahead than if I had known all that I know now when I was 22. And that's part of why, guys, we have this podcast because. No, who's going to tell you guys?

She would have not said, oh, she knew it. She knew about it, but it didn't align in her pocket. Like, no shot, no shade to her. But she doesn't make money off because she's not a licensed agent. Right. So it doesn't help to educate you on it. Right. And it was just. I was like, I was like, I didn't interrupt, but I was like, I'm.

Like, no, we're good. I was fine. Like, she kept it. And I was like, hey, we're, we're. We're life insurance agents. We've already got our stuff set up. We don't need that. And man, that just. She was like, okay, yeah. It was kind of like, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're not gonna need that. So absolutely. It's not even just, oh, we. It's. It's recognized everywhere. Like, this is. So if you're like, hey, I would prefer to have 14,000 a year versus 2300 a year all day. No, we can actually, we can actually do that for you too, because it's what we do. It's what we do.

Yeah. If you're waking up every day dreading your job, stuck in meetings that don't matter, making money for someone else, maybe it's time for a reset. At Spencer Financial Group, we help people break out of the nine to five grind and start earning what they're actually worth. No balls, no ceiling. Just a proven system, real leads, and the freedom to build your schedule around your life, not the other way around. If you're ready for something different, go to www.thespencerfinancialgroup.com and check it out. It might change just everything.

Well, Nate, what have you been in the Spencer Financial Group? What have y' all been up to?

Oh, man. Well, been hiring like crazy, so that's been fun.

I always see pictures of you and you're at the end of your interviews where it's like, all right, we got more people coming.

Yeah, more people. More people coming. We are gearing up for. Let's see. Well, we have agents, and we. We changed the word. I was so used to saying that we fail forward and. And I started reading faces that, you know, I like failing. But when you realize, like, most people don't like failing, like, I know failure is part of the game. So one of my agents who's a teacher came up with the word learning opportunities. So now we have learning opportunities left and right. And that has been fun. And it's so much like, I'm like, oh, you failed. And I'd be like, yay, good job. Failing through that. And they didn't quite get. So, like, oh, share this learning opportunity with everyone so that no one else can have to go through that learning opportunity. So we've been having learning opportunities, you know, like checking the weights on people before we're submitting and learning opportunities on, you know, when to present products and just the part. And it's so funny, Betsy, because, yeah, we. You get better as leaders. Right? And a level. A problem today is nowhere near a problem to me. Like, it was two, three years ago. And a lot of my agents that's been with me for a while is like, are you okay? Did you hear that mistake? That. Are you okay? And I'm like, learning opportunity. You know, most people are not going to make the same mistake twice, so let's get that one out the way, and the quicker we can bounce back. But if I harp on it, it's not going to help anything. It's done. So we've been doing having.

And then it's like, if they don't go through those learning opportunities, it's. It's not going to stick. Like, if we try and prevent everything, like, we're. We're robbing people of that opportunity. We're truly learning, robbing them of that learning opportunity so that they can help more people in the future. And so I think that's. That's the hard part is finding that balance.

That is.

That's a hard part.

Yeah.

Have you had that balance? Can you tell me?

I found the balance by. I found it by hiring more people because you just stay in learning phase. I think you only mess up when you think everyone's trained. But if you have the mindset that no one's always going to be trained, you'll be like, oh, great job. You know, now the new batch of folks going to make the same mistakes. And I try to record everything. We got all the training things, but there's, you know, it's just going to always be that evolving people are going to be learning. But the cool part is the new folks, the new folks 3 months ago are now no longer the new folks. So now they can't wait to teach the 30 day old new folks. So it's now I'm answering less and less because they're like, oh, I did that, or let me help you.

Well, and it's not just your voice. I think that's what also so great is like when you have these newer people coming in and then they become a little less new than the newest new people.

Yeah.

It's not just me talking. It's. Oh, okay. Everybody, Everybody. Oh, man, that's awesome. Congrats.

So, yeah, learning opportunities. No more f word. No more f word. So.

Definitely not. All right, well, okay. It's time. We have to go back. All right, guys, we're gonna. We're gonna leave you hanging. We always do. We always do. So let's see what we what we've got as a cliffhanger this week and then come back and we'll finish it off so you can see what happens. All right, here we go. Let's put this on full screen. A former blunt county insurance agent is in jail tonight. Brett chappelle, who was employed. He's in jail.

All right, let's get it there. Catch you next week. What did he do?

What did he do to get in jail? We'll, we'll see you next week. All right, for now, we're betsy and spencer signing off with fraud, facts and.

Life insurance with agent verify. Have a good one. 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 can 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 link life insurance agent.