A&O Life Update: Forbes Publishes Article on A&O
Forbes published an article today on A&O Life. You can access the article here. The article contains a lot of new information on A&O, including the fact that one investor is stuck for over $10 million. The article states:
The biggest single lawsuit against A&O so far has been filed by Eric Boutte over a $10 million investment made by a Houston trust created for the benefit of his brother, Allen Boutte, and his family. In another case, Countrywide Financial has been sued because its employees brokered A&O life settlement investments to a customer.
Forbes writer Nathan Vardi even talked to Adley Wahab and Provident Capital Indemnity, the Costa Rica bond company that A&O is blaming for investors not getting paid:
In a statement to Forbes, Eduardo Montero, an executive officer at Provident Capital Indemnity, says the company “has no pending obligations with A&O whatsoever.” In another statement, Minor Vargas Calvo, who has been identified in court documents as Provident's owner, says the company has been unable to make bond payments because it has been unable to identify the beneficiary of the bonds. Calvo says Mackert has not proven that Shepherd Capital Management legitimately represents A&O. “How can (Provident) be blamed of not paying the bond if there is no legitimate beneficiary?” asks Calvo in an e-mail.
Adley Wahab refused to comment, except to say “I sold my interest in the company two years ago.” When asked if he felt remorse for A&O investors Wahab said: “Absolutely.” Wahab's lawyer said his client denied any wrongdoing. Allmendinger's lawyer declined to comment.
The article describes the picture of A&O as "chilling." I suspect that the A&O story will get more interesting for casual observers. For investors, the handwriting is on the wall.
Great job by Forbes writer Nathan Vardi.
