RI Lawyer Solicits Terminally Ill To Sell Annuities

And now, another strange story from the biggest little state in union, Rhode Island. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that a RI estate attorney had solicited terminally ill patients to "serve as paid fronts" for purchases of variable annuities. The article caught my eye because I used to live in RI; the case involves a well-known charitable local attorney; and I've been an outspoken critic of variable annuities for some time...

Now back to our story. Attorney Joseph Caramadre, considered an "insurance expert" beat the insurance companies at their own game. For years, insurers have been hawking variable annuities (VAs) as a perfect mix of tax-deferred investing and insurance. While the investments inside VAs look a lot like mutual funds, they have a feature that allows heirs of annuity owners the ability to receive the initial investment back as a death benefit, should the owner of the contract die...

CBS News: RI Lawyer Solicits Terminally Ill To Sell Annuities