by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Collapse of Client First structured settlement factoring company leaves investors scrambling
Some investors have faced payment delays due to the apparent failure of Client First to timely employ a back up payment servicing company**
A trio of lawsuits were found on the Palm Beach County docket
(1) for breach of lease at its long time headquarters on Yamato Road in Boca Raton Download 502022CA001869XXXXMB_16 (1) Client First Default on Office Lease
Default granted against Client First Settlement Funding
(2) a breach of contract claim filed by Lexis/Nexis aginst Client First for breach of contract, unjust unrichment for a balance of $101,482.68 plus accruing interest from July 1, 2020. File 502022CA995359XXXXMB. Filed June 6, 2022
(3) a lottery investor who is missing a payment, was granted motion for default against Client First. Download 502022CA004362XXXXMB3 Filed May 2022 Default Notice Against Client First 6-28-2022 Download 502022CA004362XXXXMB_11 Client First Settlement Funding Clerk’s Default 6-28-2022
Investors in Receivables Caught in the Back Wash
Then there are investors in structured settlement receivables who had not received payments due them. Several payments were past due. In one of the cases an 80-something investor had, in 2009, invested in life contingent payment rights from a Symetra funded structured settlement. Monthly payments had not been received for several months and the hold up was due to failure by the servicer to obtain proof that the original annuitant was still living. Symetra was apparently holding up payments absent this proof.Eventually the problem was resolved, but it certainly wasn’t smooth. I understand from the investor that there is an effort afoot to get another servicer to handle the adminstrative tasks. The investor is a retiree in his upper 80s. Twice a year now, a notary must go out and get proof of living from the original annuitant and provide to the Symetra, the annuity issuer.
Bankruptcy of Payment Servicer: A KNOWN ISSUE that John Darer Raised in October 2009!
Subject of a podcast with Structured Settlement Watchdog John Darer interviewing Dallas bankruptcy lawyer Bruce Akerly that featured on Legal Broadcast Network in October 2009
- In October 2009 I did a couple of podcasts for Legal Broadcast Network on the subject of how the bankruptcy of a payment servicing company would impact an investor in structured settlement payments rights.
- The podcasts featured John Darer interviewing Bruce Akerly, a bankruptcy attorney from Dallas , Texas who conceded that even though things might turn out OK for the investor in the end, that there might be a delay and possibly legal expense to enforce/protect their rights.
- One month later the topic I raised was the subject of a presentation at the annual meeting of the National Association of Settlement Purchasers.
- A number of my sources in the secondary market claimed in the following months that they had servicers and back up servicers. Didn’t Client First get the message?
** in addition to this case two years after this the collapse of SuttonPark and the nightmare that followed.
Burt Kroner fighting an 8 Figure smackdown by the IRS in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
On February 28, 2022, Kroner filed a legal action in Palm Beach County Florida against the law firm that advised him on the deal that it is alleged gave rise to the IRS action. Burt Kroner, inidividually v Foley & Lardner LLP and Robert J. Bernstein,Esq., individually 502022 CA 001866XXXXMB.
Related Reading
General
Selling A Structured Settlement Get The 411
Later occurences on impairment of Payment Servicers
Suttonpark Nightmare and Its Ongoing Impact – Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog January 17, 2025
777 Partners and Their Controversial Investments – Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog January 27, 2025
When Genex Capital sent Recall Notices to Investors about Pre-2015 Receivables
Genex Capital Recall Notices for Investors Explained – Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog April 4, 2022
“”As a valued client, we believe it is our duty to continually evaluate your holdings, consider whatever external risks may be developing and make recommendations in an effort to protect your investments with us” signed Genex Capital Corporation, Per Roger Proctor President and General Counsel”
Why it Matters
- While the SuttonPark Nightmare unfolded after Client First’s collapse was in motion, there was an overlap (Client First bankruptcy was not finalized until 2025). SuttonPark, before its collapse was the largest servicer of structured settlement payment rights.
- But the payment servicing issue has lingered since 2009
- A backward and forward look is essential to readers’ understanding of how payment servicing impairments can affect their investments, BEFORE investing.
- The SuttonPark Nightmare began with a trickle of delayed serviced payments in late May-June 2024 and fulminated by the second week of November 2024 into a full scale investors’ and split payees’ nightmare with poor communication.
- It is worth noting that in June 2026, I was still receiving calls from annuitants whose payments had been serviced by SuttonPark and had payment delays till ingoing. Vervent Successor to SuttonPark Structured Settlement Receivables Payment Servicing – Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog 2026 June 15, 2026
These issues transcend the primary and secondary markets for structured settlements
Last updated September 6, 2026