Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog 2026

Structured settlements expert John Darer reviews the latest structured settlements and settlement planning information and news, and provides expert opinion and highly regarded commentary. that is spicy, Informative, irreverent and effective for over 20 years.

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

Questions Raised about Derwood MD Lawyer’s IPA Work

Allstate offered an Advanced Funding Exchange Notice (AFEN) liquidity option as a rider its standard

Lawyer shark  with white collar and  rep tie and briefcase who symbolizes  alawyer who may not be acting in the client's best interest

structured annuity contract, which according to its terms, permitted annuitants to exchange their future payments for a lump sum at a discount rate of 8%.  This is material information that was publicly available and that attorney Charles E. Smith should have known when he was engaged to provide independent professional advice. 

Charles E. Smith’s bogus independent professional advice to Baltimore lead paint victims with structured settlements has already been the subject of a Washington Post expose, or two.   I also posted about his “work” in June 2015 (see link below).

But having been provided with and examined a list of cases where Charles E.Smith was listed as the provider of independent professional advice (or alleged independent professional advice), at a trade conference,  the details of just how badly Charles E. Smith’s shoddy advice shafted Allstate structured settlement annuitants in particular, including the late Freddie Gray and his family, have become crystal clear.

Smith Approved Deals that Exceeded Alltate’s AFEN Rate of 8%. In some cases, FAR EXCEEDED!

Discount rate on a sampling of Maryland structured settlement transfer cases involving Allstate Life Insurance Company payee where Charles E. Smith is listed as the IPA. Compare to Allstate’s AFEN rate of 8%.

Melinda Buchanan  CAE14-13520  10.48%

Brittany Marshall    CAE14-13538   18.71%

Melinda Buchanan  CAE-14-13537  10.48%

Vincent Jones Jr.   CAE 13-35467   13.93%

Jason Blake            CAE 13-36530  16.73%

Tysean Robinson      CAE 13-37648  18.05%

Crystal Linton          CAE  13-37649  22.52%

Crystal Linton           CAE 13-28909   19.85%

Frank Driver              CAE  14-02175   25.07%

Brian Stokes              CAE 13-23519     22.80%

Freddie Gray Jr.       CAE 13-28911      17.10%

Carolina Gray            CAE 13-28911      17.10%

Fredericka Gray        CAE 13-28910     17.10%

Floyd Lindell             CAE 13-28912      12.31%

Bad Structured Settlement Advice Gets MD Lawyer Disbarred Sued   June 19, 2015

Maryland’s structured settlement transfer laws were amended and higher standards became required for IPAs as a result of the furor created by the Washington Post expose.  An appeal of the settlement in a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of victims, by the Maryland Attorney General, is pending oral arguments in March 2019.

Access Funding’s Boghosian and Lawyers Charles E Smith and Anuj Sud Convicted of Theft Scheme – Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog November 11, 2022

Access Funding Scam: Sentences for Boghosian, Smith, and Sud – Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog April 18, 2023

The Very Troubling Mary Alice Rose Case involving Charles E. Smith Jr.

Independent Professional Advice and Legal Duties – Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog June 27, 2015

What Should Independent Professional Advice Look Like?

Independent Professional Advice (IPA) for Structured Settlement Sellers (4structures.com)

 

 

 

 

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