Federal regulators say they have agreed to accept a $25 million settlement offer from the former principals of a failed life settlement firm.[@@]
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil suit against Joel Steinger, Leslie Steinger and Peter Lombardi, who once led Mutual Benefits Corp., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the U.S. District Court in Miami.
If approved by U.S. District Court Judge Federico Moreno, the settlement agreement could resolve the SEC’s investigation of Mutual Benefits marketing practices.
The SEC has accused the defendants in the case of using companies they controlled to defraud about 31,000 Mutual Benefits investors, in part by misrepresenting the life expectancy and longevity of the insureds who had sold their policies to the firm.