Sedlar-Sholty, et al. v. Acclivity West, LLC, et al. was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles on July 19, 2021 seeking damages for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent and intentional misrepresentation in connection with a life settlement investment Ponzi scheme.
Plaintiffs are numerous individual and trustee investors who made investments in life insurance policies, either independently or through their retirement programs. Defendants are Acclivity West LLC (“Acclivity West”), a California company, and several owners and employees of Acclivity West.
The scheme involved life settlement transactions, in which Acclivity West acquired life settlements and then sold fractional interests in those settlement to targeted investors, instead of holding those assets separate and using them to fund the investors’ premiums. Plaintiffs allege that Acclivity West used premiums from the sale of one policy provided by one group of investors to pay the premiums on other policies that were experiencing shortfalls on premiums in Ponzi fashion. Further, Plaintiffs allege that the scheme is ongoing, and that Acclivity West is financially unstable and unable to maintain its business operations.
In connection with their claims, Plaintiffs seek more than $5,000,000 in compensatory damages, restitution of at least $4,500,000, punitive and exemplary damages, the imposition of a constructive trust, and attorneys fees and costs.
