A retired New York resident has accused a financial consultant of misrepresenting the benefits of rolling $202,624 in savings from a retirement account into a variable annuity.
Simone Russo asserts in a lawsuit filed last week in a state court in Rockland County, New York, that the consultant, David Turk, led him to believe that the AXA Equitable Accumulator Plus Variable Deferred Annuity With Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit would provide a guaranteed minimum income benefit, or lifetime income stream, of $1,090 per month.
Russo received monthly benefits from 2008 through 2018, but Turk, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company and AXA Equitable affiliates failed to provide the information Russo needed to get the GMIB benefit, and payments ended in September 2022, according to the complaint.
Russo has accused Turk of fraudulent misrepresentation and AXA Equitable and related companies of having liability for Turk's actions.
AXA Equitable and its affiliates are subsidiaries of Equitable Holdings. Turk and Equitable did not respond to requests for comment.
The defendants: In addition to Turk, AXA Equitable and Equitable Holdings, the list of defendants includes Equitable Advisors, Equitable Financial Life Insurance Co. and Equitable Distributors.
Turk holds the certified financial planner professional designation.
