Report: SC Law Firm Allegedly Helped to Cheat Veterans Out of Millions of Dollars
For nearly seven years, a small South Carolina law firm allegedly helped operate a nationwide scheme that authorities say preyed on desperate military veterans, misled investors and netted millions of dollars in profit, reports The Post and Courier of Charleston.
The Upstate Law Group, owned by Candy Kern-Fuller, allegedly worked with a network of salesmen to lure in cash-strapped veterans and persuade them to sign over their monthly pensions and disability payments, according to Post and Courier reporter Andrew Brown.
The businesses then persuaded retirees to invest in the federal benefit payments, promising up to an 8 percent return on their money. Participating veterans received a lump-sum payout for handing over several years of future income to the investors.
“The problem is the entire arrangement is illegal, according to state and federal authorities. Federal law prohibits veterans from assigning their pension or disability payments to another person,” Brown explains.
In a similar case, federal officials have arrested the alleged ringleader of a nationwide business in which veterans sold their military pensions.
Read the Post and Courier article.
