The list of hazards faced by first responders to the Sept 11th terror attacks is a long one. In addition to cancer, respiratory disease, and post-traumatic stress, the perils include financial scammers out to raid their medical compensation benefits.
In a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the New York Attorney General’s Office accuse a New Jersey company, RD Legal, of targeting firefighters, paramedics and police officers who rushed into the rubble of the World Trade Center.
“We allege that this company and its owner lined their pockets with funds intended to cover medical care and other critical expenses for people who are sick and sidelined,” Consumer Bureau Director Richard Cordray said.
RD Legal’s modus operandi, according to the CFPB’s complaint, was to “swoop in” after victims had been awarded compensation but before they received it. The company would offer to “convert your settled cases into immediate cash,” and then charge illegally high interest on top of fees buried in the fine print of a long contract; some of its loans ended up costing the equivalent of 250% annual interest, the two agencies allege.
The Consumer Bureau was created after the 2008 financial crisis to do a simple job: get banks and lenders to treat people fairly. One way it does this is through enforcement actions which have so far delivered nearly $12 billion in refunds and relief to some 17 million Americans cheated by financial companies large and small.
In the RD Legal case, the Bureau is seeking to end the scam, impose monetary penalties, and force the company to return what could be millions of dollars to affected consumers. One of the potential beneficiaries is Elmer Santiago, a NYC police officer who was living in his jeep when he agreed to borrow $355,000. Eighteen months later, RD Legal handed him a bill for $860,000.
The company also pitched its services to former football players entitled to compensation from the NFL for neurological diseases such as CTE, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Contracts labeled “assignments and sale agreements” did not disclose interest rates because, RD Legal claimed, “the transaction is not a loan.”
Some people may have been seduced by the company’s promises to “cut through the red tape” and speed up their compensation. In fact, RD Legal provided no such help, according to the lawsuit.
RD Legal is a hedge fund and a player in what is known as the litigation finance industry, using wealthy investors to bankroll cash advances for lawsuits and settlements.The owner and founder of RD Legal, Roni Dersovitz, was named in the action, along with two affiliate entities. Dersovitz was previously sued by the SEC for defrauding investors and exploiting Beirut bombing victims.
— Madison Moore and Jim Lardner