Randy Stelk and others ran a company based in Florida during the late 1990's and early years of 2000 named "Future First Financial Corporation". The company succeeded in raising $400-million in investor funds, mostly from IRA and retirement accounts. They promised annual returns of 14% or better with an instrument or investment product known as "viatical settlements". A viatical settlement is where a supposedly terminally ill patient surrenders his life insurance policy at a discounted price to an investor or buyer, who then becomes the beneficiary and receives the death benefit upon the person's passing.in concept it is something like a reverse mortgage, or purchasing a foreclosed piece of real estate. The benefit to the dying person is that he can access money from his life insurance policy for necessary or desirable personal use before he dies, rather than leaving it for a beneficiary after he has passed away. OK, under appropriate circumstances and execution with honesty and integrity it appears to be a reasonable concept. The problem occurs when there is not adequate compliance and regulation to certify that it is done properly. This is where Randy Stelk and friends come into play. Through a network of eager and poorly informed sales reps across the country, these masterminds of fraud create phony patients and policies and then get investors to "buy" them, based upon completely fraudulent documents and information. They get seemingly reputable people like doctors, CPA's, attorneys, former FBI agent, and others with apparently impeccable and impressive credentials to vouch for the integrity and honesty of the program, and use these "props" to lure in otherwise suspicious and skeptical investors. There is typically a two or three year window before the terminally-ill patient passes and the death benefit is awarded to the substituted beneficiary or investor. That gave them a three year window of opportunity to milk the heck out of the thing and raise $400-million from investors before accountability and reality required a response or performance on the promises. That's when things began to get ugly and suspicious. Delays and explanations or excuses, people waiting for their money, deadlines passing with no results, etc. This is when the state of Florida department of insurance starts and investigation and shuts them down in 2002 with a cease and desist order. Upon subsequent investigation with forensick (misspelling intentional) accountants, attorneys, criminal investigators, conservators and receivers, etc. Only $34-million of the $400-million can be located and accounted for. What happened to the other $366-million? Where is it, and who has it? Those are good questions to ask, and ones which deserve an answer.in July, I paid a visit to the corporate office in Florida to try and find out exactly what was going on. I saw the plush and elaborate offices - you would have thought Louis XIV had taken up residence with the splendor of it all. The late model Jaguar was parked at the curb, with multiple stickers in windshield from private yacht, country club, and prestigious gate-guarded residential community - the best of everything, of course. The large private office of Mr. Stelk was full of toys, "trophies", photos, and momentos of someone who was definitely living large - exotic cars, Harleys, private jet, personal audience with the Pope at the Vatican, ski condo in Aspen, European and Carribean vacations, fishing and hunting trips to Alaska - nothing was missing from this proud display of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". I walked through the offices with Mr. Stelk and saw stacks of investor checks on desks waiting to be processed. The state of Florida and civil experts probably spent millions of dollars in legal and investigation work over a period of several years, before Mr. Stelk and friends were finally charged with 80 counts of felony fraud, violation of RICO statutes, theft, civil and criminal charges. They were able to delay the thing for 8 years, until October. Unlike the innocent victims who have been fleeced and having nothing left to spend to prosecute and recover damages, the guilty have a huge hidden fund of assets ($366-million) to spend for their defense and delays. And what do you think the outcome of grabbing these bad guys and bringing them to "justice" was? Sit down before I tell you. Would you believe a ten year sentence, which was suspended, with 15 years probation, and restitution? They walked out of the courthouse as free men. A close personal friend of mine invested his life savings in his IRA at Bank of America, where he was only getting a 1.5% interest. He was a welder and spent 20 years to save that amount. I did not enjoy telling him his funds were completely gone - never to be seen again. His uneducated wife had a puzzled look on her face when I told her, with an expression that said, "What do you mean?" Well, that friend passed away from a heart attack he suffered at work on October 13. I was there when his three children ages 10,8, and 6 returned from school to be told that their father had died. When I saw the tragedy his wife and widow would endure with his passing, it made me angry for what had occured with his investment at Future First and Randy Stelk, so I contacted the probation officer in Florida yesterday to find out what is happening with Mr. Stelk on probation, and how a person files a claim for restitution. I received an email response from the probation officer this morning, and this is what I learned: Yes, Mr. Stelk is serving 15 years of probation after the sentencing in and he is ordered to pay restitution, but it was never determined or specified what that amount was, so in order to avoid violating the terms of his probation, Mr. Stelk generously pays $25 each month to the court until his probation period expires. My math tells me that at that rate he will have paid a whopping total of $4,500 during the 15 years of probation, at which time his case will be dismissed. Divide that amount by 2,000 investors or more, and then by the 15 year time frame, and you are looking at pennies per investor per year. Isn't that an outstanding and amazing performance of American justice in action? Should we all stand and cheer for the government officials who participated in this travesty and abomination. It is the most absolute example of incompetence and stupidity I have ever encountered in my lifetime. It leaves me sick and disgusted for the victims, and angry and furious for the principals. It also makes me understand and sympathize for how vigilante justice is carried out. If you play by the rules and wait for the government to act, this is what you get. How can anyone seriously consider the possibility of the United States government managing a uniform health care system? With this experience and rampant Medicare Fraud which goes unpunished, the thought of it staggers the imagination, and sickens the stomach, to say nothing of the taxpayer's wallet. Which brings me to another point - doesn't this just make you think your tax dollars are being wisely and wonderfully spent. I feel sorry for the soldiers who are losing their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq protecting the land of the free and the home of the brave. If this is what we have to show for it, it doesn't make this citizen very proud. After discovering the facts I have mentioned here, if anyone knows how to bring some attention and outrage to this situation I feel that is what needs to happen. I would like to contact senators, the Florida attorney general, have a congressional hearing on the matter or whatever it takes to wake people up and realize the system isn't working; this is not right; our sense of justice is sorely misplaced and abused; and something needs to be done about it, or we are no better off than the corrupt Third World countries we read about in the headlines. The criminals, mafia, and insiders are laughing all the way to the bank (overseas, of course), while the rest of us stand around like a bunch of stupid and silent idiots allowing it to happen. Let's get John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" and others like him on this, make some noise, and get some action. It's either that or crawl in your cave, pull down the blinds, and hope nothing bad happens. As for you Mr. Stelk and your associates - I hope there is a special place in the hereafter reserved for people like you, and that you receive your reward for the undeserved pain and suffering you caused thousands to suffer by your actions and misconduct.
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