For Attorney General Brian Frosh, the conclusion -- after a seven-month investigation -- is clear.
"This set of circumstances makes my blood boil," Frosh told CBS News. "It looks to me like sophisticated and very aggressive folks targeting the most vulnerable people in our society -- people who are poor, people who are cognitively impaired and people who are young and unsophisticated."
Frosh is now suing Access Funding and related entities, alleging they duped at least 74 victims of lead paint poisoning in Baltimore -- people like Crystal Linton, who suffered lead poisoning as a child and was left "functionally illiterate."
To safeguard her future, she received a $630,000 structured settlement, guaranteeing monthly checks for the next 40 years.
But after getting fliers from companies promising quick cash, Linton sold her future payment stream, then valued at $408,00, for just $66,000, some of it to Access Funding.
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Note the expensive fringe boots....manicure...and hair. She spent her money well.
ReplyDeleteCognitively impaired. Yep.
ReplyDeleteThose people who get a payout from these settlements need to be, as a group, presumed not able to completely handle their own affairs and make rational and well-informed decisions. Those funds should be put in an irrevocable trust for them, with structured monthly payouts.
ReplyDeleteThey are too often victims of their own families and "friends", who see dollar signs and convince the affected to make decisions that are not in the recipients' best interests.
lol
ReplyDeleteDumb, dumb, dumb.
ReplyDeletecognitively impaired = stupid. Stupid is as stupid does.
ReplyDeleteIf they don't want brain damaged people to be able to sell their annuities for a lump sum payout, then the annuities should be configured that way. Duh.
ReplyDeleteThe lead paint lawsuits are a big scam in my opinion.A way to scam the system and get easy money.I would not be shocked if some of these "functionally illiterate victims" were hand-fed paint chips by their parent or guardian.Instant gratification,can't wait for the money lets get it all and blow it.
ReplyDeleteI am willing to bet my lunch that Miss Linton and all the other "victims" are getting monthly disability checks from the government along with free medical and food too!
There are so many desperate people in this country who worked all their damn lives and now cannot work and they can't get SSDI because of all these low IQ people claiming to be "disabled".So those of us who are waiting for help will die before we ever get approved for the benefits WE earned.Meanwhile these "victims",much like Freddie Gray,CAN work but choose not to.Even worse,knowing they are low IQ they continue the cycle and bring more kids into the world who will also be dependent on the government for their entire lives.No pity here.I cared enough about my kids to not let them eat peeling paint.
4:49-
ReplyDeleteI was recently told by a realtor that the biggest problem was lead dust put into the air from the window sashes when the windows were raised & lowered.
Your comment reeks of racism & severe lack of empathy for people who were damaged by their environment. You don't know any of the things listed in your tirade to be true; matter of fact, just sounds like hatred. Problems with the system don't mean it's these people that are preventing others from getting disability. If you worked all your life, you should have been saving something for a rainy day. It's my understanding that these people aren't cognizant enough to hold a job, & didn't understand what they were signing.
I didn't see one mention of race of any kind in the comment. You are the one stating "these people" are dumb as a box of rocks.
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ReplyDeleteGiven that mostly black people were involved, I felt that there were racial undertones to the comment. And I never, ever called these unfortunate people dumb as rocks; that would be your ugly comment. I can safely presume you have no idea what the effects of lead poisoning are. I guess you'll be referring to all the children of Flint as the same? Dumb seems to describe you, not the severe developmental delay caused by environmental poisoning that these kids face.