Prudential Wins Ruling over $10 Million Life-Settlement Case (Wall Street Journal)

In the latest setback to investors who buy existing life insurance policies to collect the death benefit, a recent court ruling in Florida gave Prudential Financial the right to void an existing $10 million life insurance policy that had been sold to a woman in her 70s before being resold on the secondary market. It seems a clear case of stranger-originated life insurance: the woman, in her 70s, had submitted an application stating she had a net worth above $10 million; in reality, this was only $600,000. More convicting still, the agent involved in the transaction, Steven M. Brasner, had recently been found guilty of grand theft, fraud, and other offenses tied to $78 million of policies.