Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
By HELEN HUNTLEY
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 27, 2001
Investors who dealt with Accelerated Benefits Corp., including many in the Tampa Bay area, are in a tough position. Many of the supposedly safe high-yield investments they bought a few years back haven't paid a dime. Now the Orlando company is asking them to send in more money or risk losing their entire investments.
The investors bought interests in viatical settlements, which are insurance policies purchased from people with serious illnesses and short life expectancies. Investors bought the policies for less than the death benefit and were supposed to be able to collect in full when the insured person died. But many of those people are living.
"The company didn't tell us everything we should have known from the beginning," said Joseph Sliby, a retired motel owner in St. Petersburg who said he has about $30,000 at stake. He said he invested four years ago in policies on people who had life expectancies of one year or less but who are still alive.
Now Accelerated Benefits has told Sliby and many other investors they will have to pay the premiums if they want to keep the policies in force. But sending in additional money is no guarantee of eventual repayment.
"There is no way for our folks to know if a consumer is sending in a payment whether it is being applied toward premiums," said Tami Torres, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Insurance.
The department revoked Accelerated Benefits' license as a viatical settlement provider this year, claiming the company bought fraudulently obtained policies. Last month, agents for the FBI and the Department of Justice raided the company's office and hauled off boxes of records.
The only advice the insurance department has offered investors is to read their contracts and consult a lawyer.
Sliby said his lawyer told him not to bother paying. The situation is complicated by the fact that Sliby and most other investors hold partial interests in policies rather than entire policies. He said he cannot get answers to his questions from the company.
"They tell me how the patient is doing and nothing else," he said.
Officials at Accelerated Benefits did not return voice mail messages.
- Helen Huntley can be reached at huntley@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8230.