JG Wentworth continues to falsely claim that it is the undisputed leader in the structured settlement industry.
The company states on its website (at time of publication) that its claim "is substantiated by our longevity, the dollar volume of our transactions, the AAA Ratings on our financings, and the contribution we have made to the legal framework that regulates the funding of structured settlements." I think there's enough fertilizer in that statement for next year's spring crop.
JG Wentworth continues to make this false claim knowing full well that I for one, as well as the rest of the structured settlement industry continue to dispute their false and outrageous claims.
It has been well published that JG Wentworth is not in the structured settlement industry. It is a factoring company, specialty finance company, settlement purchaser, advance funder or the "word du jour" its marketing folks apparently can come up with.
It is not a member of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association ("NSSTA"), nor would it likely qualify to be a member. I understand that it may be a member of the National Association of Settlement Purchasers which is comprised of a group of factoring companies. IF consumers want to find out who is in the structured settlement industry consult the free NSSTA directory of members.
If longevity is a factor (no pun intended) then there was "a whole bunch of longevity" getting educated down in Rio Grande Puerto Rico this week at the NSSTA Annual Meeting. I'll put up their longevity against yours Michael Goodman!***
I submit that leadership is neither measured in dollar value of your transactions when your transactions involve discounting people's secure income streams for "cash now" at effective discount rates of close to 20%, nor by how much money a structured settlement broker brags that he, or the company of which he is a principal, gave to a specific trial lawyer association or paid off its mortgage.
The AAA rating is not an indicator of undisputed leadership in the structured settlement industry. There's more than one rating agency. A rating AAA by S&P or Fitch or Aaa by Moodys does not mean leadership when measured by the amount of structured settlement annuity premium derived from the creation of structured settlements. Pardon me for being crude, but AIG Structured Settlements**** at $1.4 billion (2005) and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company at $1.15B (2005) demonstrate that JG Wentworth "couldn't even hold their jock".
Is JG Wentworth listed on the "World's Most Admired" by Fortune Magazine? Nooooo! Hmmmmm… New York Life, Prudential Financial, MetLife, Aviva, AIG, Allstate, Hartford, Liberty Mutual are! Moreover, unlike JG Wentworth, these companies are actually in the structured settlement industry. And you know what else? These companies have a whole lot of longevity too!
And as far as "the contribution we (JGW) have made to the legal framework that regulates the funding of structured settlements…poppycock! JG Wentworth does not fund structured settlements.
(1) Look at the IRS definition of a structured settlement. Going by that definition, which is the only one under the tax code, the funding of a structured settlement is performed by either a defendant, insurance company, or the trustee of a qualified settlement fund, if the structured settlement does not embody a qualified assignment, or by an assignment company in such cases where there is a qualified assignment
(2) JG Wentworth has had nothing to do with Revenue Ruling 79-220, IRC Section 104(a)(1) or 104(a)(2) or 130 which represent the legal framework governing structured settlements, an industry that has way more longevity than late arrival and attempted party crasher, JG Wentworth. That it might have had anything to do with Section 5891 where "structured settlement" is now defined underscores my statement. IRC 5891 clearly defines what JG Wentworth actually does in relation to structured settlements which is factoring. That's right factoring! "Structured settlement factoring transaction" is how it reads right there in the Internal Revenue Code
JG Wentworth adds to the consumer smog and is doing a disservice to consumers with this continued false claim. Time for DMI Partners (JG Wentworth's ad agency) to try another strategy.
*** Michael B. Goodman, the CEO of JG Wentworth, is no relation to Michael W.Goodman who is a principal in National Settlement Consultants, a company that is a member of NSSTA and actually in the structured settlement industry
**** AIG Structured Settlements includes American General Life Insurance Company and American International Life Assurance Company of New York
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