American veterans are seething with rage after a broker accused of ripping them off reached a settlement with the feds – only to be essentially let off the hook.
No jail time, no restitution, no fines!
Mark Corbett wasn’t even given the proverbial slap on the wrist for getting veterans to sign over pensions and disability payments in exchange for cash advances at exorbitant rates.
He was ordered to pay just $1!
“Bilk veterans out of disability and retirement pay for seven years? Your settlement, sir, is a McChicken sandwich,” The Navy Times cracked in response.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) defended the move, saying the low penalty “accounts for Corbett’s inability to pay more based on sworn financial statements that he provided to the Bureau and Corbett’s ongoing cooperation with the Bureau’s investigation.”
Translation: anyone can rip vulnerable people for thousands of dollars and so long as they comply with investigation, they don’t have to pay anyone back.
Here’s how it worked: Corbett was essentially a middleman, creating websites that would lure in veteran searching for loans.
He would then broker deals giving them quick money in the form of lump-sum cash from what the feds are calling “Doe companies.”
In return, the veterans would have to go into their online pension accounts and redirect their payments to those companies, generally for periods of 5-10 years. The CFPB said this arrangement violates federal law, which “prohibits agreements under which another person acquires the right to receive a veteran’s pension payments.”
That’s not the only outrageous thing.
In some cases, the companies were supposed to get only part of each monthly payment — but the veterans had to sign over ALL of it, then wait for a reimbursement.
They were essentially getting an allowance… like children… from their own money!
And that’s STILL not the end of it.
“Veterans were required to purchase life insurance policies so that, should a veteran die and the income stream stop, the outstanding amount on the contract would still be paid,” the CFPB said.
Yes, they were required to make sure these companies would be paid even if they died!
And for the final indignity, the veterans often weren’t paid on time.
He’s been ordered to shut down completely. He’s “permanently banned from brokering, offering, or arranging agreements” between veterans and the vultures trying to “buy” their pensions.
And while the CFPB might’ve let him off the hook, he may not be out of the water yet: He’s also facing a separate federal lawsuit filed by three veterans.
Let’s hope they get more than $1 out of him.
—The Horn editorial team