by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Circuit Court of Maryland Sentenced Boghosian, Smith and Sud
On April 7, 2023, the Circuit Court of Maryland issued sentences to three defendants involved in the well publicized Access Funding scam targeting Black lead paint victims in Baltimore City between 2013 and 2015. The case received significant attention from the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun and various blogs including Structured Settlements 4Real
- They sought ‘lead paint virgins’ and bought their settlements. It will be hard for victims to get their money back – Baltimore Sun January 21, 2019
- Opinion | Robbing the victims of lead paint poisoning – The Washington Post August 27, 2015.
Reform of Maryland Structured Settlement Protection Laws followed
In November 2022 then Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh announced the convictions of former Access Funding Chief Operating Officer, Raffi Boghosian, Charles E. Smith Jr, a lawyer and a now disbarred lawyer, Anuj Sud (who previously convicted for bribery while a liquor commissioner) for headline grabbing theft from 94 victims. Access Funding’s training manual referred to its targets as “lead paint virgins” in a training manual uncovered by the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB).
Boghosian, Smith and Sud were each found guilty of Theft Scheme Over $100,000 and Conspiracy to Commit Theft Scheme Over $100,000 after trial in the Circuit Court in Baltimore City
Access Funding’s Boghosian and Lawyers Charles E Smith and Anuj Sud Convicted of Theft Scheme – Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog 2025https://structuredsettlements.blog/2022/11/11/access-fundings-boghosian-and-lawyers-charles-e-smith-and-anuj-sud-convicted-of-theft-scheme/
Did the punishment fit the crime for B, S & S?
Raffi Boghosian criminal case Circuit Court of Maryland 121354004
- Probation by Judgment
- 4 Years of Supervised Probation
- 300 Hours of Community Service
Raffi Boghosian is now Executive Vice President of Reliance Funding in Rockville Maryland.
Charles E. Smith, Jr. criminal case Circuit Court of Maryland 121354003
- Probation by Judgment
- 4 Years of Supervised Probation
- 150 Hours of Community Service
As we contemplate the fairness of these sentences, here is my June 27, 2015 blog concerning victim Mary Alice Rose and Mr. Smith’s role How Maryland Structured Settlement Protection Act Failed Mary Alice Rose – Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and Commentary (typepad.com)
Anuj Sud criminal case Circuit Court of Maryland 121354002
- 3 Year Suspended Sentence
- 4 Years Supervised Probation
- 150 Hours of Community Service
Compare the ” Access Funding 3″ sentences to other structured settlement factoring related crimes
- Joey Camacho, once a Miami-based lawyer for structured settlement factoring companies, somehow turned forgery into his new specialty by faking the signatures of seven Broward County judges more than a hundred times. Disbarred and sentenced to a year in jail, it seems his legal career took a “shortcut” straight to the defendant’s chair—definitely not the courtroom spotlight he was aiming for! See CORRECTED: Who Has Time To Wait For Official Signatures? – Camacho Sentenced – Legal Reader by Sara E. Teller August 7, 2017
- Thomas Rubino, once a paralegal for the New York City personal injury firm Paris & Chaikin, found himself trading legal briefs for jail bars after being sentenced to 6 months for forging judges’ signatures 234 times on 117 legal documents, including structured settlement transfer orders. Guess he took “signature moves” a bit too literally! See Paralegal forged names of 76 judges to ‘make work easier’ (nypost.com) by Sara Rosenberg September 17, 2015