Florida Viatical Seller's Assets Auctioned

By Trevor Thomas

August 27, 2008 at 10:45 AM

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Life Settlement Insights LLC, a life settlement brokerage, announced plans for a second auction sale to sell off assets of a bankrupt Miami viatical settlement firm and its subsidiaries.

LSI, Cleveland, is running the auction on behalf of the court-appointed receiver for Mutual Benefits Corporation, Viatical Services Inc. and Viatical Benefactors LLC, which a federal court placed in receivership in 2004 following fraud investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation.

The first auction, held in July, consisted of 195 policies in two portfolios as well as fractional interests in 178 other policies. It netted just under $6 million, LSI says.

Jim Cavoli, chief executive officer of LSI, says the auctions have had strong interest from several foreign investors as well as large institutional investors in the United States.

"We expect similar or even greater interest in the September auction," Cavoli says.

The second auction, to be held Sept. 25, will include 5 individual policies with a total face value of around $14.5 million and an additional $52 million in fractional units spread across 470 policies, LSI says.

MBC was placed in receivership after the SEC filed formal complaints against it in May 2004. The complaints resulted in receivership orders against MBC by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

MBC was accused by the SEC and Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation of a variety of violations, including hiding terminal medical conditions from life insurers to obtain coverage for its viatical settlements.

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