Petitioner: DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
Respondent: BIJAN RAZDAR
Judges: SUSAN BELYEU KIRKLAND
Agency: Department of Financial Services
Locations: Tampa, Florida
Filed: Nov. 17, 2005
Status: Closed
Settled and/or Dismissed prior to entry of RO/FO on Thursday, March 23, 2006.
Latest Update: Jan. 09, 2025
4
FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF
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TOM GALLAGHER
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CASE NO.: 78947-05-AG ™
BUAN RAZDAR
OS H(93-PL
ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT
TO: BIJANRAZDAR
4708 Polaris Court
New Port Richey, FL 34652-4427
BIJAN RAZDAR
American Independent Insurance Services, Inc.
10633 US Highway 19
Port Richey, Florida 34668-2859
BAN RAZDAR
P.O. Box 700
Port Richey, Florida 34673-0700
You, BIJIAN RAZDAR, license LD. #A215922, are hereby notified that the Chief
Financial Officer of the State of Florida has caused to be made an investigation of your activities
while licensed as an insurance agent in this state, as a result of which it is alleged:
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
1. Pursuant to Chapter 626, Florida Statutes, you, BAN RAZDAR, are currently
licensed in this state as a Life Including Variable Annuity Agent (2-14), Life IncludingVariable
Annuity & Health Agent (2-15), Life Agent (2-16), and Life & Health Agent (2-18).
2. At all times pertinent to the dates and occurrences referred to herein, you, BIIAN
RAZDAR, were licensed in this state as an insurance agent.
3. Pursuant to Chapter 626, Florida Statutes, the Florida Department of Financial
Services (the “Department”) has jurisdiction over your licenses and appointments.
4. During the years 1996 through 2004, you, BIIAN RAZDAR, used your position
as a licensed insurance agent in Florida to defraud elderly consumers for the purpose of your
own personal gain.
5. Through the use of radio talk show broadcasts featuring your advice, radio
advertisements in which you claimed to provide certain beneficial financial services, and
seminars conducted by you, BITAN RAZDAR, you targeted elderly consumers with the ultimate
goal of soliciting them to purchase unsuitable annuity contracts paying high dollar commissions.
6. You, BITAN RAZDAR, exploited your clients’ trust in you by fraudulently
inducing them into purchasing annuity investments that were both unsuitable and inappropriate
to their investment objectives and financial needs, but which generated substantial commissions
for you.
7. You, BITAN RAZDAR, further caused the partial withdrawal and
surrender of in force annuity contracts for the sole purpose of creating new annuity contracts,
resulting in unnecessary tax consequences, surrender charges and additional penalties to your
clients but providing commissions to you.
8. In order to help effectuate these transactions, you, BIIAN RAZDAR,
misrepresented the terms and conditions of annuities by failing to disclose to your clients
applicable surrender charges and withdrawal penalties, failing to deliver and provide copies of
these annuity contracts to your clients, failing to provide adequate comparative analysis between
the clients’ former investments and the annuity contracts you sold to them, and failing to disclose
to your clients that 10 or 20 day free look provisions may have been available to them.
9. Additionally, as part of your attempts to gain control of all of your clients?
investment assets and to further camouflage the damage caused to your clients in the form of
surrender penalties and tax consequences, you, BIJAN RAZDAR, discouraged your clients from
submitting their financial information to independent certified public accountants for review by
insisting instead that your clients use an accountant of your choosing.
10. In 1998, you, BUAN RAZDAR, were subject to a Letter of Guidance issued by
_ the Department (f/k/a Florida Department of Insurance) for conduct that was the same or
substantially similar to the nature of the conduct alleged herein.
COUNT I
11. The above general allegations are hereby realleged and fully incorporated herein
by reference, .
12. In the year 2000, you, BITAN RAZDAR, had occasion to meet Florida consumer
Mrs. M.N. when she contacted you after having heard one of your radio advertisements. Upon
your initial meeting with Mrs. MLN. in late December of that year, you, BIIAN RAZDAR were
allowed the opportunity to review Mrs. M.N.’s investments. During that meeting, you, BIIAN
RAZDAR, told Mrs. M.N. that her investments were “wrong.” You, BITAN RAZDAR, declared
to Mrs. M.N., who was at that time eighty-one years of age, that if she had done business with
you as opposed to someone else, she would “be worth double the amount” of her current net
worth at that time. You, BIJAN RAZDAR, insisted Mrs. M.N. should immediately switch her
investments, many of which were insurance products, to companies of your liking.
13. As aresult of your initial meeting with her, Mrs. M.N. allowed you, BIJAN
RAZDAR, to over the next several months cause partial withdrawal and/or surrender her in force
investments for the purpose of purchasing new annuity contracts written by you through Midland
National Life Insurance Company (“Midland”).
14. You, BJAN RAZDAR, without an objectively reasonable basis for believing that
the replacement of Mrs. M.N.’s in force annuities would result in an actual and demonstrable
benefit to your client, fraudulently represented that such transactional events would in fact
benefit her. The terms of Midland contracts #8500043701 in the amount of $332,973, and
#8500021464 in the amount of $40,284, each of which was a single premium deferred annuity,
precluded Mrs. M.N. from gaining access to income from her investment until the year 2019, at
which time she would be ninety-five years of age. These two transactions alone generated for
you, BITAN RAZDAR, approximately $63,000 in commissions.
15. In or around December, 2002, you, BNAN RAZDAR, again met with Mrs. M.N.
for the purpose of convincing her to purchase still more annuity products. You, BIJAN
RAZDAR, contrary to her best interests and with no objectively reasonable basis for doing so,
caused the withdrawal or surrender of funds from at least two of Mrs: M.N.’s existing Midland
annuity contracts. Using these funds, Amerus Annuity Group (“Amerus”) contracts #424592 in
the amount of $767,953.71, #422237 in the amount of $764,055.31, and #424593 in the amount
of $72,369 were created. All contracts were single premium deferred annuities, the terms and
conditions of which precluded Mrs. M.N. from being able to receive income from these
investments until age ninety-eight. These three transactional occurrences effectuated by you,
BIJAN RAZDAR, caused Mrs. M.N. to suffer surrender charge losses in excess of $93,000 but
generated a massive $176,481 in commissions for you, BIJAN RAZDAR.
16. Slightly more than one year later, in or around March, 2004, you, BITAN
RAZDAR, again visited Mrs. M.N. with the intent to cause withdrawal or surrender of her
existing investments and fraudulently induce her into purchasing additional annuity products
from you. On that visit, you, BAN RAZDAR, placed in front of Mrs. M.N. a number of papers
and instructed her to sign without explanation. You, BJAN RAZDAR, falsely represented to
Mrs. MLN. that signing these papers would be in her best interests, and caused Mrs. MN. to
believe that these papers were necessary to facilitate the sale of several of her tax free municipal
bonds for the purpose of investing those funds in a tax free money market fund. Based upon the
trust she placed in you, Mrs. MLN. did agree to sign those papers.
17. Among the numerous papers you instructed Mrs. MLN. to sign were those needed
to effectuate various withdrawals and/or surrenders of her in force investments. More
specifically, instead of purchasing for her a tax free money market fund and contrary to her
express wishes, you, BIIAN RAZDAR, used those funds for the purpose of creating several new
annuity contracts, including Midland annuity #85000170620 in the amount of $18,942. Instead,
Mrs. M.N. discovered the existence of this Midland annuity and was able to cancel it before
suffering additional losses.
18. Also among the papers you instructed Mrs, M.N. to sign that day were those
necessary to effectuate withdrawals from two of the Amerus contracts you had sold to her
. Slightly more than one year prior. You, BLIIAN RAZDAR, contrary to her best interests and with
no objectively reasonable basis for doing so, caused the withdrawal or surrender of funds Mrs.
M.N.’s Amerus contract #424592 in the amount of $76,795, and used these funds to create a
new annuity, Keyport/Sun Life contract #KA12730611-01. This single transaction would have
generated for you, BJAN RAZDAR, commissions in the amount of $8,255. Instead, subsequent
to the issue of the contract, Mrs. M.N. discovered the existence of this Keyport/SunLife annuity
and learned of its terms and conditions, and was able to cancel it before suffering additional
losses.
19. Also that day, you, BIJAN RAZDAR, contrary to her best interests and with no
“objectively reasonable basis for doing so, caused the withdrawal or surrender of funds from Mrs.
M.N.’s Amerus contract #422237 in the amount of $76,405 and used these funds to create still
another annuity, Keyport/Sun Life contract #KA12730612-01. This single transaction would
have generated for you, BIIAN RAZDAR, commissions in the amount of $8,213. Instead,
subsequent to its issuance, Mrs. M.N. discovered the existence of this Keyport/SunLife annuity
and learned of its terms and conditions, and was able to cancel it before suffering additional
losses.
20. You, BITAN RAZDAR, gained Mrs, M.N.’s trust by causing her to believe
that you were an “estate planner.” In each of the above transactions, you, BIJAN RAZDAR,
exploited Mrs. M.N.’s trust in you and fraudulently induced her into agreeing to follow your
advice by failing to disclose the terms and conditions of the investments you sold to her, and
failing to disclose to her that surrender charges, penalties, and tax consequences may apply.
You, BUAN RAZDAR, failed to provide Mrs. MN. with any copies of the applications she
signed, failed to deliver to her copies of her annuity contracts, and failed to disclose to her that a
10 or 20 day free look provision may have been available to her upon the purchase of her
contracts. The transactions herein alone resulted in losses in the form of surrender charges and
penalties to Mrs. M.N. in excess of $95,000, but resulted in commissions to you, BITAN
RAZDAR, of a staggering $239,481.
IT IS THEREFORE CHARGED that you, BAN RAZDAR, have violated or are
accountable under the following provisions of the Florida Insurance Code and Rules of the
Department of Financial Services which constitute grounds for the suspension or revocation of
your licenses and appointments:
(a) If the license or appointment is willfully used, or to be used, to circumvent
any of the requirements or prohibitions of this code. [Section 626.611(4), Florida
Statutes];
(b) Willful misrepresentation of any insurance policy or annuity contract or
willful deception with regard to any such policy or contract, done either in person or by
any form of dissemination of information or advertising. [Section 626.611(5), Florida
Statutes];
(c) Demonstrated lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in the business of
insurance. [Section 626.6 11(7), Florida Statutes};
(d) Demonstrated lack of reasonably adequate knowledge and technical
competence to engage in the transactions authorized by the license or appointment.
[Section 626.611(8), Florida Statutes];
(e) Fraudulent or dishonest practices in the conduct of business under the
license or appointment. [Section 626.61 1(9), Florida Statutes];
() Willful failure to comply with, or willful violation of, any proper order or
rule of the department or willful violation of any provision of this code. [Section
626.61 1(13), Florida Statutes];
(g) Violation of any provision of this code or of any other law applicable to
the business of insurance in the course of dealing under the license or appointment,
[Section 626.621(2), Florida Statutes];
(h) Violation of any lawful order or rule of the department, commission, or
office. [Section 626.621(3), Florida Statutes];
(i) Violation of the provision against twisting, as defined in Section
626.9541(1)(1). [Section 626.621(5), Florida Statutes];
(j) In the conduct of business under the license or appointment, engaging in
unfair methods of competition or in unfair or deceptive acts or practices, as prohibited
under part IX of this chapter, or having otherwise shown himself or herself to be a source
of injury or loss to the public or detrimental to the public interest. [Section 626.621(6),
Florida Statutes];
(k) Ifa life agent, violation of the code of ethics. [Section 626.621(9), Florida
Statutes];
(1) Misrepresents the benefits, advantages, conditions, or terms of an
insurance policy. [Section 626.9541(1)(a)(1), Florida Statutes];
(m) Is a misrepresentation for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, the
lapse, forfeiture, exchange, conversion, or surrender of any insurance policy. [Section
626.9541(1)(a)(6), Florida Statutes];
(n) Knowingly making a false or fraudulent written or oral statement or
tepresentation on, or relative to, an application or negotiation for an insurance policy for
the purpose of obtaining a fee, commission, money, or other benefit from any insurer,
agent, broker, or individual. [Section 626.9541(1)(k)(1), Florida Statutes];
(0) Knowingly making any misleading representation or incomplete or
fraudulent comparisons or fraudulent material omissions of or with respect to any
insurance policies or insurers for the purpose. of inducing, or tending to induce, any
person to lapse, forfeit, surrender, terminate, retain, pledge, assign, borrow on, or convert
any insurance policy or to take out a policy of insurance with another insurer. [Section
626.9541(1)(1), Florida Statutes];
(p) Policyholders shall have the right to insurance advertising and other selling
approaches that provide accurate and balanced information on the benefits and limitations
ofa policy. [Section 626.9641(1)(c), Florida Statutes];
(q) Policyholders shall have the right to be serviced by a competent, honest
insurance agent or broker . [Section 626.9641(1)(e), Florida Statutes];
(rt) Policyholders shall have the right to a readable policy. . [Section
626.9641(1)(f), Florida Statutes];
(s) Present to the applicant, not later than at the time of taking the application, a
“Notice to Applicant Regarding Replacement of Life Insurance” in the form as described
in Exhibit A. The Notice must be signed by the applicant and the agent and left with the
applicant. [Rule 69B-151.006(1), Florida Administrative Code];
() The Business of Life Insurance is hereby declared to be a public trust in
which service all agents of all companies have a common obligation to work together in
serving the best interests of the insuring public, by understanding and observing the laws
governing Life Insurance in letter and in spirit by presenting accurately and completely
every fact essential to a client's decision, and by being fair in all relations with colleagues
and competitors always placing the policyholder's interests first. [Rule 69B-215.210,
Florida Administrative Code];
(u) Twisting is declared to be unethical. No person shall make any misleading
representations or incomplete or fraudulent comparison of any insurance policies or
insurers for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, any person to lapse, forfeit,
surrender, terminate, retain, or convert any insurance policy, or to take out a policy of
insurance in another insurer, [Rule 69B-215.215, Florida Administrative Code];
(v) Misrepresentations are declared to be unethical. No person shall make,
issue, circulate, or cause to be made, issued, or circulated, any estimate, circular, or
statement misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued or the benefits or
advantages promised thereby or the dividends or share of the surplus to be received
thereon, or make any false or misleading statement as to the dividends or share of surplus
previously paid on similar policies, or make any misleading representation or any
misrepresentation as to the financial condition of any insurer, or as to the legal reserve
system upon which any life insurer operates, or use any name or title of any policy or
class of policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof. [Rule 69B-215.230(1), Florida
Administrative Code].
COUNT I
21. The above general allegations are hereby realleged and fully incorporated
herein by reference.
22. In or about February, 1996, you, BITAN RAZDAR, met Mr. and Mrs. A.B.,
elderly consumers, after they attended one of your seminars subsequent to hearing one of your
radio advertisements. At that initial meeting, you sold Mr. and Mrs. A.B. several annuities,
including but not limited to American Fidelity Assurance Company (“American F idelity’”)
annuity #1109410-01, a $30,000 single premium annuity for which Mr. A.B. was the annuitant
and Mrs. A.B. was the beneficiary. The sale of this single annuity contract #1109410-01
generated approximately $1,237 in agent commissions to you, BAN RAZDAR.
23. Two years later, in May, 1998, Mr. A.B. passed away. Upon learning of her
husband’s death, you, BITAN RAZDAR, sought to exploit Mrs. A.B.’s trust in you through your
professional relationship with her. At a time when Mrs. A.B. was grieving over the loss of her
husband of fifty-five years, she became your prey.
24, In or around June or early July, 1998, you, BIIAN RAZDAR, met with Mrs. A.B.
who had relatively no investment background and no knowledge whatsoever of the risks
associated with annuity investments. During this visit, you, BIIAN RAZDAR, insisted on
viewing Mrs. A.B.’s current investments, and placed in front of the grieving Mrs. A.B. numerous
investment materials and contracts, directing her to sign them without explanation. Also during
this visit, Mrs. A.B., who was at that time eighty-three years of age, explained to you, BJAN
RAZDAR, that she did not want any investment longer than five years in duration or maturity.
You, BAN RAZDAR, falsely represented to Mrs. A.B. that signing these documents would be
in her best interest. At your direction and based upon the trust she placed in you, BIIAN
RAZDAR, as a professional, Mrs. A.B. did agree to sign these papers.
25. Among the papers you, BJAN RAZDAR, directed Mrs. A.B. to sign were
several surrender requests for in force annuities, including but not limited to a surrender request
for the American Fidelity annuity #1109410-01 you had sold to Mrs. A.B. and her husband just
two years prior. As beneficiary, Mrs. A.B. had the option of annuitizing the American Fidelity
contract and receiving regular income payments for the rest of her natural life. Without regard to
Mrs. A.B.’s best interests and without an objectively reasonable basis for doing so, you, BIIAN
RAZDAR, instead convinced her to surrender her American Fidelity contract and others for the
10
purposes of effectuating a new annuity contract with you as agent of record. You, BIIAN
RAZDAR, failed to fully disclose the options available to Mrs. A.B. with respect to her
American Fidelity annuity contract, and directed her instead to surrender the contract for full °
surrender value.
26. Also among the papers you instructed Mrs. A.B. to sign during that visit was an
annuity application for USG Annuity & Life Company (“USG”). The funds that you, BITAN
RAZDAR, caused to be surrendered from Mrs. A.B.’s contracts with Cova Financial, Jackson
Life, and American Fidelity were then used to effectuate a new contract, USG contract #575927.
You, BITAN RAZDAR, failed to disclose to Mrs. A.B. that this new contract would involve new
surrender charges and fees that would apply in the event she needed to gain access to her funds.
At no time did you provide Mrs. A.B. ofa copy of her annuity contract, at no time did you advise
her that she had the right to review the contract, and at no time did you advise her that she may
have the right to cancel the contract within a specified period for any reason. These transactional
occurrences resulted in tax consequences and surrender penalties to your client, Mrs. A.B., and
also caused her to suffer surrender charges of at least $1,131, but caused you, BIJAN RAZDAR,
to receive $5,173 in agent commissions from USG. And this was only the beginning.
27. During the months and years following her husband’s death in 1998, you, BIIAN.
RAZDAR, continued to visit Mrs. A.B. for the sole purpose of inducing her into purchasing still
more annuity contracts through you, many of which were funded by the untimely surrender
and/or systematic withdrawal from her in force annuities, but all of which generated significant
commissions for you.
28. Contrary to your client’s best interests and with no objectively reasonable basis
for doing so, Mrs. A.B.’s annuities, over the course of the following few years, would
systematically be twisted through either withdrawal or surrender by you, BIIAN RAZDAR, into
still more annuity products,
1]
29. In or around September 1998, you, BITAN RAZDAR, caused to be withdrawn
from among Mrs. A.B.’s various in force American Investors annuity contracts a total of six
separate withdrawals in the aggregate totaling in excess of $21,000. You, BIIAN RAZDAR,
falsely represented to your client that these withdrawals from in force annuities to fund still more
new annuities was in her best interests. You, BIIAN RAZDAR, failed to disclose to Mrs. A.B.
that surrender charges, penalties and/or adverse tax consequences may result from these
transactions. Repeatedly, Mrs. A.B. stressed to you, BIJAN RAZDAR, that she did not want any
investment longer than five years in maturity or duration, and that she did not want to lose any
money as a result of these transactions. Each time that you, BIJAN RAZDAR, met with your
elderly client, you instructed Mrs. A.B. “not to worry” about the reasons why you were causing
the withdrawal and/or surrender of her in force investments and purchase of new investments,
instead insisting that these transactional occurrences would not cause Mrs. A.B. to lose money.
With that, you further instructed Mrs. A.B. to endorse the back of these checks and return them
to you, BAN RAZDAR. You, BIJAN RAZDAR, falsely represented that doing so would be in .
Mrs. A.B.’s best interests. Based upon the trust she placed in you, BAN RAZDAR, as an
insurance professional, Mrs. A.B. did in fact endorse’ the back of these checks and give them to
you.
30. As a result, the checks that were systematically generated by partial or total
surrenders or withdrawals effectuated by you, BAN RAZDAR, were then used by you to write
new annuities and generate new commissions therefore. These transactions, typically written
through companies paying high dollar commissions, were occasioned without the full informed
consent of your elderly client and caused her to suffer losses as a result.
31. The following month, in or around October, 1998, you, BJAN RAZDAR, again
visited the home of Mrs. A.B. where you sought to collect the checks she had received as a result
of the above withdrawals. You, BITAN RAZDAR, convinced Mrs. A.B. to use the proceeds
from the withdrawals you had effectuated for the purpose of funding two new contracts. Based
12
upon the trust she placed in you, BAN RAZDAR, Mrs. A.B. agreed to make two new
investments for the equal benefit of her two daughters: C.B. and 8.C.B.. At your request, two
annuity applications were signed by Mrs. A.B.. As a result, the aforementioned withdrawals you,
BIJAN RAZDAR, caused to be made from Mrs. A.B.’s in force accounts were used to fund two
new annuities: USG annuities #581236 (C.B.) and #581237 (S.C.B.). These two transactions
caused you, BJAN RAZDAR, to be paid $1,450 in commissions.
32. During this October, 1998 visit, Mrs. A.B. stressed to you, BAN RAZDAR, that
she was to remain owner of these investments and continue to have control of her money, but
‘that her two daughters were to be named as beneficiaries for any death benefit associated
therewith.
33. Instead, and without explanation or confirmation, you, BAN RAZDAR,
completed the applications that you had directed Mrs. A.B. to sign and in doing so designated
each of Mrs. A.B.’s daughters as both owners and annuitants of each respective contract, rather
than simply beneficiaries. Because you, BIIAN RAZDAR failed to provide to her a copy of her
applications or contracts to review, Mrs. A.B. was unaware that these transactions caused her to
lose ownership and control of approximately $22,000 of her money.
34, Determined to continue the exploitation of Mrs. A.B.’s trust in you, you, BIJAN
RAZDAR, effectuated the withdrawal and partial surrender of her in force annuities contrary to
her best interest, without an objectively reasonable basis for doing so, and without your client’s
informed consent.
35, In or about March of 1999, in order to further facilitate the ease of fraudulent
annuity transactions, you, BITAN RAZDAR, caused yourself to be named agent of record for
most if not substantially all of the investments she had held since prior to her husband’s death,
Included among these investments were in force American Investors Life Insurance Company,
Inc. (“American Investor”) annuity contracts: #255426; #256994; #257594; #260028; #260029;
#262039; #272224; #272225; and #275933.
36. In or around the end of August or beginning of September, 2000, you, BIIAN
RAZDAR, caused to be made a total of nine separate withdrawals from Mrs. A.B.’s in force
American Investor contracts, totaling in excess of $28,000.
37. On or about September 6, 2000, subsequent to having caused these withdrawals
but during that same month, you, BIIAN RAZDAR, again visited Mrs. A.B. for the purpose of
convincing her to use the proceeds from the withdrawals effectuated by you to fund still more
annuity purchases. At your direction and based upon the trust she placed in you, BIIAN
RAZDAR, Mrs. A.B. did endorse and turn over to you the checks generated as a result of these
withdrawals.
38. During that visit, you, BIJIAN RAZDAR, again placed in front of Mrs. A.B. a
number of papers and instructed her to sign them without explanation or review. At your
insistence, and believing you to be acting in her best interest, Mrs. A.B. agreed to sign the papers
you provided. These documents, signed September 6, 2000 by Mrs. A.B.,.were actually
applications for two new annuity products: Midland National Life Insurance Company ©
(“Midland”) annuities #8500013638 and #8500013639. These annuities, funded with
withdrawals from your client’s:in force annuities, resulted in commissions to your agency,
American Independent Financial Advisors, or to you, BIJAN RAZDAR, in the initial amount of
$4,578.
39. Furthermore, and contrary to Mrs. A.B.’s express direction to you that she
have no investment longer than five years in duration or maturity, you, BJAN RAZDAR, with
no objectively reasonable basis for doing so and contrary to your client’s best interests,
continued to cause to be purchased annuities with terms far greater than your client’s life
expectancy. Both Midland annuity #8500013638 and #8500013639 were issued when Mrs. A.B.
was eighty-five years of age, and each had fourteen years of surrender charges beginning on their
effective date, with the first five contract years carrying an a massive 25% (twenty-five percent)
surrender charge. Additionally, Mrs. A.B. would not be eligible to begin receiving income from
these annuities until she reached approximately 101 years of age, or, September 11, 2015.
40. During the year 2002, Mrs. A.B. again was caused to suffer losses and forced
i4
to lose control of her own investments by your, BIJAN RAZDAR’s actions. In or around March,
2002, through the use of a handwritten note written by someone other than Mrs. A.B., you,
BIJAN RAZDAR, were again able to effectuate the surrender of one of Mrs. A.B.’s investments
for the purpose of your own personal gain. You, BIIAN RAZDAR, without her knowledge or
consent, caused to be surrendered Mrs. A.B.’s ING-USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company
(“ING”) annuity number #90017344. This surrender caused Mrs. A.B. to suffer an initial loss in
surrender charges of $686, and resulted in a check being sent to Mrs. A.B.’s home in the amount
of $53, 101.
41. In or around that same month, you, BITAN RAZDAR, also caused to be
surrendered or withdrawn from Mrs. A.B.’s in force American Investors annuity accounts,
without an objectively reasonable basis for doing so and without her informed consent, amounts
in the aggregate totaling in excess of $239,000. .
42. You, BAN RAZDAR, again directed Mrs. A.B. to endorse the checks sent to
her and told her “not to worry,” that you would take care of it Based upon the trust she placed in
you, BJAN RAZDAR, Mrs. A.B. did in fact endorse the checks and turn them over to you,
Unbeknownst to Mrs. A.B., her money was then used to fund in part not one, but three separate
annuity contracts — Midland annuity contracts #850007738 1, #8500077382, and #8500081221.
These fraudulent transactions, involving more than $292,000 of Mrs. A.B.’s funds, caused her to
suffer additional surrender charges and interest penalties in excess of $9,585, but resulted in
commissions to you, BAN RAZDAR, of $30,910.
43, In each of these transactions, you, BIIAN RAZDAR, fraudulently misrepresented
the terms and conditions of the annuities by failing to disclose to your client, Mrs. A.B., that
surrender charges, penalties, tax consequences, or all three may apply. You, BIJAN RAZDAR,
further failed to provide Mrs. A.B. any copies of the applications she signed, failed to deliver to
her copies of her annuity contracts to review, and failed to disclose to her that a 10 or 20 day free
look provision may have been available to her upon the purchase of each new contract.
44. Additionally, among the American Investors annuities you, BIJAN RAZDAR,
15
caused to be surrendered in or around March, 2002, was annuity #272225. This annuity, owned
by Mrs. A.B., was created in 1995 for the benefit of Mrs. A.B.’s grandson. Through all of your
dealings with Mrs. A.B. over the years, she repeatedly instructed you, BAN RAZDAR, to
never touch or do anything with this annuity she had created for her grandson. Contrary to Mrs.
A.B.’s strongly expressed wishes and with no objectively reasonable basis for doing so, you,
BIJAN RAZDAR, caused this annuity to be fully surrendered and twisted into a new annuity,
contract #8500077382 above, written by you through Midland.
45. All totaled, during the years 1998 through 2004, through the use of systematic
withdrawals effectuated without Mrs. A.B.’s knowledge or informed consent, and through funds
withdrawn or surrendered from her in force investments or otherwise fraudulently obtained by
way of your failure to disclose the true terms and conditions of these transactions, Mrs. A.B.’s
funds were used by you, BITAN RAZDAR, to create at least twenty seven different annuity
contracts with companies paying significant agent commissions. These transactions resulted in
Mrs, A.B. losing ownership and control of more than $293,000 of her own money, and further
resulted in losses to her in the form of tax consequences and surrender charges in excess of
$6,500. By selling these annuities, you, BITAN RAZDAR, generated for yourself or your
agency an astounding $138,000 plus in commissions.
IT IS THEREFORE CHARGED that you, BJAN RAZDAR, have violated or are
accountable under the following provisions of the Florida Insurance Code and Rules of the
Department of Financial Services which constitute grounds for the suspension or revocation of
your licenses and appointments:
(a) If the license or appointment is willfully used, or to be used, to circumvent
any of the requirements or prohibitions of this code, [Section 626.61 1(4), Florida
Statutes];
16
(b) Willful misrepresentation of any insurance policy or annuity contract or
willful deception with regard to any such policy or contract, done either in person or by
any form of dissemination of information or advertising. [Section 626.611(5), Florida
Statutes];
(c) Demonstrated lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in the business of
insurance. [Section 626.611(7), Florida Statutes];
(d) Demonstrated lack of reasonably adequate knowledge and technical
competence to engage in the transactions authorized by the license or appointment.
[Section 626.611(8), Florida Statutes];
{e) Fraudulent or dishonest practices in the conduct of business under the
license or appointment. [Section 626.61 1(9), Florida Statutes];
(f) Willful failure to comply with, or willful violation of, any proper order or
rule of the department or willful violation of any provision of this code. [Section
626.611(13), Florida Statutes); - |
(g) Violation of any provision of this code or of any other law applicable to
the business of insurance in the course of dealing under the license or appointment.
[Section 626.621(2), Florida Statutes};
(h) Violation of any lawful order or rule of the department, commission, or
office. [Section 626.621 (3), Florida Statutes];
(i) Violation of the provision against twisting, as defined in Section
626.9541(1)(1). [Section 626.621(5), Florida Statutes];
(j) In the conduct of business under the license or appointment, engaging in
17
unfair methods of competition or in unfair or deceptive acts or practices, as prohibited
under part IX of this chapter, or having otherwise shown himself or herself to be a source
of injury or loss to the public or detrimental to the public interest. [Section 626.621(6),
Florida Statutes];
(k) Ifa life agent, violation of the code of ethics. [Section 626.621(9), Florida
Statutes]; .
(1) Misrepresents the benefits, advantages, conditions, or terms of an
insurance policy. [Section 626.9541(1)(a)(1), Florida Statutes);
(m) Is a misrepresentation for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, the
lapse, forfeiture, exchange, conversion, or surrender of any insurance policy. [Section
626.9541(1)(a)(6), Florida Statutes];
(n) Knowingly making a false or fraudulent written or oral statement or
representation on, or relative to, an application or negotiation for an insurance policy for
the purpose of obtaining a fee, commission, money, or other benefit from any insurer,
agent, broker, or individual. [Section 626.9541(1)(k)(1), Florida Statutes];
(0) Knowingly making any misleading representation or incomplete or
fraudulent comparisons or fraudulent material omissions of or with respect to any
insurance policies or insurers for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, any
person to lapse, forfeit, surrender, terminate, retain, pledge, assign, borrow on, or convert
any insurance policy or to take out a policy of insurance with another insurer. {Section
626.9541(1)(1), Florida Statutes];
(p) Present to the applicant, not later than at the time of taking the application, a
“Notice to Applicant Regarding Replacement of Life Insurance” in the form as described
18
in Exhibit A. The Notice must be signed by the applicant and the agent and left with the
applicant. [Rule 69B-151.006(1), Florida Administrative Code];
rida Statutes];
(q) The Business of Life Insurance is hereby declared to be a public trust in
which service all agents of all companies have a common obligation to work together in
serving the best interests of the insuring public, by understanding and observing the laws
governing Life Insurance in letter and in spirit by presenting accurately and completely
every fact essential to a client's decision, and by being fair in all relations with colleagues
and competitors always placing the policyholder's interests first. [Rule 69B-215.210,
Florida Administrative Code];
(r) Twisting is declared to be unethical. No person shall make any misleading
representations or incomplete or fraudulent comparison of any insurance policies or
insurers for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, any person to lapse, forfeit,
surrender, terminate, retain, or convert any insurance policy, or to take out a policy of
insurance in another insurer. [Rule 69B-215.215, Florida Administrative Code];
(s) Misrepresentations are declared to be unethical. No person shall make,
issue, circulate, or cause to be made, issued, or circulated, any estimate, circular, or
statement misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued or the benefits or
advantages promised thereby or the dividends or share of the surplus to be received
thereon, or make any false or misleading statement as to the dividends or share of surplus
previously paid on similar policies, or make any misleading representation or any
misrepresentation as to the financial condition of any insurer, or as to the legal reserve
system upon which any life insurer operates, or use any name or title of any policy or
19
class of policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof. [Rule 69B-215 .230(1), Florida
Administrative Code].
COUNT II
46. The above general allegations are hereby realleged and fully incorporated herein
by reference.
. 47. In or around late December, 2000 or early January, 2001, you, BIJAN RAZDAR,
met Mrs. F.W., an elderly Clearwater consumer, when she contacted you after having heard one
of your radio advertisements. At the time of this initial meeting, Mrs. F.W., a widow who lived
alone, had relatively little or no investment experience and the extent of her investment portfolio
consisted primarily of a single annuity with F&G Life and Annuity Company (“F&G”). This
single annuity, created one year prior with an investment of approximately $141,281 from her
401K plan, represented the bulk of her retirement nest egg from Mrs. F.W.’s forty-three years of
work at Sears, Roebuck & Company.
48. . During that meeting, the seventy-eight year old Mrs. F.W. discussed with you,
BIJAN RAZDAR, that she was currently receiving $1,142 monthly as income from her F&G
annuity, and explained that she had a critical need liquidity of her assets at that time. Also at that
meeting, Mrs. F.W. stressed to you that although she was currently invested in an annuity, she
was certain that she did not want to purchase another annuity product. Her objective, as stated to
you, BIJAN RAZDAR, was that her investment be “safe,” and liquid, so that it would be
available to her if she needed it quickly.
49. Approximately one month later, on or around February 13, 2001, you, BIJAN
RAZDAR, again met with Mrs. F.W.. At that time and despite the fact that you had a scheduled
appointment with her, you, BJAN RAZDAR, indicated to Mrs. F.W. that you were in a hurry,
but presented to her a number of papers to sign accompanied with your promise that “everything
[would] be fine,” and that there was no need to read anything. You, BIJAN RAZDAR, falsely
represented that signing these papers would be in Mrs. F.W.’s best interests. At your direction,
and based upon the trust she placed in you, BIJIAN RAZDAR, Mrs. F.W. did in fact sign those
papers.
50. Contrary to her express wishes and without her knowledge or consent, you,
BIJAN RAZDAR, caused to be surrendered Mrs. F.W.’s F&G qualified annuity, and with those
funds created Midland annuity #8500022902, in the amount of $129,271.26. This single
transactional occurrence caused Mrs. F.W. to suffer approximately $9,100 in surrender charges
or penalties, and caused commissions to be generated for you, BIIAN RAZDAR, in excess of
$21,900.
51. You, BAN RAZDAR, never informed Mrs. F.W. that her Midland investment
was an annuity, never disclosed to her that the papers you instructed her to sign were used to
cause the surrender of her F&G annuity, never provided her copies of her application or the
documents she was directed to sign, and failed to disclose to her that a 10 or 20 day free look
provision may have been available to her upon the purchase of this investment.
52. Approximately six months later, in'or around early August, 2001, you, BIJAN
RAZDAR, advised Mrs. F.W. to withdraw from the Midland annuity she had never seen
approximately $18,000 as a qualified plan required minimum distribution, and provided her a
form to sign to make such a withdrawal. These funds were withdrawn and sent to Mrs. F.W. in
the form of a check delivered to her home'address. You, BITAN RAZDAR, then instructed your
elderly client to come to your office after she had deposited the check into her bank account. At
your direction, and based upon the trust she placed in you, she did exactly that. Once deposited
into her bank account, these funds were no longer qualified funds entitled to certain tax
advantages.
53. In or around mid August, 2001, you, BAN RAZDAR, convinced Mrs. F.W. to
write you two separate checks totaling the approximately $18,000 she had received from her
Midland investment. One of these checks, representing $8,000 in then nonqualified funds, was
then redeposited by you, BIIAN RAZDAR, back into Mrs. F.W.’s Midland qualified annuity.
54, You, BJAN RAZDAR, in direct contradiction to Mrs. F.W.’s express wishes
and without an objectively reasonable basis for doing so, caused Mrs. F.W.’s F&G annuity to be
surrendéred and reinvested in another annuity with Midland. As a result, Mrs. F.W. suffered an
immediate loss of $9,100 in surrender charges, representing the loss of a sizeable portion of her
retirement nest egg. In addition to the surrender charges Mrs. F.W. experienced, she saw her
much needed monthly income of $1,142 disappear completely. After suffering through the
drastic reduction in income for a period of time, in December, 2002 Mrs. F.W. was forced to
annuitize her Midland annuity to begin receiving a much lower monthly payment of $742.
55, Because of your, BIIAN RAZDAR’s actions, Mrs. F.W. has suffered a loss in
monthly income at a time when she desperately needs that income to maintain her current
lifestyle.
56. In each of the above transactions effectuated by you, BJAN RAZDAR, you
fraudulently represented to your client the terms and conditions of the transactions by failing to
disclose that surrender charges, penalties, tax consequences, or all three may apply. You, BITAN
RAZDAR, failed to provide Mrs. F.W. with any copies of the application she signed, and failed
to disclose to her that a 10 or 20 day free look provision may have been available to her upon the
purchase of her contract.
IT IS THEREFORE CHARGED that you, BAN RAZDAR, have violated or are
accountable under the following provisions of the Florida Insurance Code and Rules of the
Department of Financial Services which constitute grounds for the suspension or revocation of
your licenses and appointments:
(a) Ifthe license or appointment is willfully used, or to be used, to circumvent
any of the requirements or prohibitions of this code. [Section 626.61 1(4), Florida
Statutes];
(b) Willful misrepresentation of any insurance policy or annuity contract or
willful deception with regard to any such policy or contract, done either in person or by
any form of dissemination of information or advertising. [Section 626.611 (5), Florida
Statutes];
(c) Demonstrated lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in the business of
insurance. [Section 626.611(7), Florida Statutes];
(d) Demonstrated lack of Teasonably adequate knowledge and technical
competence to engage in the transactions authorized by the license or appointment.
[Section 626.611(8), Florida Statutes]; ,
(e) Fraudulent or dishonest practices in the conduct of business under the
license or appointment. [Section 626.611(9), Florida Statutes];
(f) Willful failure to comply with, or willful violation of, any proper order or
rule of the department or willful violation of any provision of this code. [Section
626.611(13), Florida Statutes];
{g) Violation of any provision of this code or of any other law applicable to
the business of insurance in the course of dealing under the license or appointment.
[Section 626.621(2), Florida Statutes];
(h) Violation of any lawful order or rule of the department, commission, or
office. [Section 626.621(3), Florida Statutes];
(i) Violation of the provision against twisting, as defined in Section
626.9541(1)(). [Section 626.621(5), Florida Statutes];
G) In the conduct of business under the license or appointment, engaging in
unfair methods of competition or in unfair or deceptive acts or practices, as prohibited
under part IX of this chapter, or having otherwise shown himself or herself to be a source
of injury or loss to the public or detrimental to the public interest. [Section 626.621(6),
Florida Statutes];
(k) Ifa life agent, violation of the code of ethics. [Section 626.621(9), Florida
Statutes];
(1) Misrepresents the benefits, advantages, conditions, or terms of an
insurance policy. [Section 626.9541(1)(a)(1), Florida Statutes];
(m) Is a misrepresentation for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, the
lapse, forfeiture, exchange, conversion, or surrender of any insurance policy. [Section
626.9541(1)(a)(6), Florida Statutes];
(n) Knowingly making a false or fraudulent written or oral statement or
representation on, or relative to, an application or negotiation for an insurance policy for
the purpose of obtaining a fee, commission, money, or other benefit from any insurer,
agent, broker, or individual. [Section 626.9541(1)(k)(1), Florida Statutes];
(0) Knowingly making any misleading representation or incomplete or
fraudulent comparisons or fraudulent material omissions of or with respect to any
insurance policies or insurers for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, any
person to lapse, forfeit, surrender, terminate, retain, pledge, assign, borrow on, or convert
any insurance policy or to take out a policy of insurance with another insurer. [Section
626.9541(1)(), Florida Statutes];
24
(p) Present to the applicant, not later than at the time of taking the application, a
“Notice to Applicant Regarding Replacement of Life Insurance” in the form as described
in Exhibit A. The Notice must be signed by the applicant and the agent and left with the
applicant. [Rule 69B-151.006(1), Florida Administrative Code];
(q) The Business of Life Insurance is hereby declared to be a public trust in
which service all agents of all companies have a common obligation to work together in
serving the best interests of the insuring public, by understanding and observing the laws
governing Life Insurance in letter and in spirit by presenting accurately and completely
every fact essential to a client's decision, and by being fair in all relations with colleagues
and competitors always placing the policyholder's interests first. [Rule 69B-215.210,
Florida Administrative Code};
(r) Twisting is declared to be unethical. No person shall make any misleading
representations or incomplete or fraudulent comparison of any insurance policies or
insurers for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, any person to lapse, forfeit,
surrender, terminate, retain, or convert any insurance policy, or to take out a policy of
insurance in another insurer. [Rule 69B-215.215, Florida Administrative Code];
(s) Misrepresentations are declared to be unethical. No person shall make, issue,
circulate, or cause to be made, issued, or circulated, any estimate, circular, or statement
misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued or the benefits or
advantages promised thereby or the dividends or share of the surplus to be received
thereon, or make any false or misleading statement as to the dividends or share of surplus
previously paid on similar policies, or make any misleading representation or any
misrepresentation as to the financial condition of any insurer, or as to the legal reserve
system upon which any life insurer operates, or use any name or title of any policy or
class of policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof. [Rule 69B-215.230(1), Florida
Administrative Code].
COUNT IV
57. The above general allegations are hereby realleged and fully incorporated herein
by reference. ,
58. You, BIJAN RAZDAR, first had occasion to briefly meet Mrs. E.R. and her
husband by chance occurrence in the late 1980’s while you were visiting a neighbor of theirs.
Over the next eleven or so years, you continued to drop by Mrs. E.R. and her husband’s home
unannounced and uninvited, attempting to develop a business relationship with them. From time
to time during these visits, you, BIJIAN RAZDAR, would solicit the couple’s business by asking
to review their investment portfolio. In or around 1998, the couple finally relented and allowed
you, BITAN RAZDAR, to view their financial information.
59. Upon being allowed to view the couple’s investment portfolio, you, BITAN
RAZDAR, insisted to Mrs. E.R. and her husband that you could “do better” for them. Based
upon the representations you made, and based upon the trust they placed in you and their belief
that you, BJAN RAZDAR, were acting in their best interests, the couple agreed to allow you to
rework their investments.
60. As aresult, during the following twenty-four to thirty-six months, you, BIIAN
RAZDAR, took control of essentially all of Mrs. E.R. and her husband’s funds, approximately
one half million dollars, moving funds out of their existing investments and into investments of
your recommendation. Every single one of those investments recommended by you, BITAN
RAZDAR, save one, was a single premium deferred annuity.
61. From 1997 through 1998, you, BJAN RAZDAR, caused to be purchased with the
funds liquidated from Mrs. E.R. and her husband’s previous investments at least nine separate
annuity contracts written through various companies such as American Equity Investment Life
(“American Equity”), USG, ING, and Jackson National Life. The unifying factor among these
contracts, notwithstanding its issuing company, was that each contract generated for you, BIJAN
RAZDAR, significant commissions.
62. Contrary to your clients’ best interests and with no objectively reasonable basis
for doing so, these nine annuities, over the course of the following few years, would
systematically be twisted through either withdrawal or surrender by you, BITAN RAZDAR, into
still more annuity products. With each transaction, you, BAN RAZDAR, generated more and
more commissions for yourself.
63. One such annuity was Jackson National Life annuity #0039409670, caused by
you, BIUAN RAZDAR, to be purchased in or around November or December, 1997 in the
amount of $71,090. The sale of this annuity generated for you, BIIAN RAZDAR, commissions
in the amount of $5,687. Approximately twenty-four months after the purchase of this annuity,
using a Jackson National Life Partial Withdrawal request form, you, BJAN RAZDAR, caused
the partial surrender and/or withdrawal of $50,000 from this contract. The Partial Request form,
which requires the owner/annuitants signatures for processing, was completed without the
knowledge and consent of Mrs. E.R. and her husband, by person(s) other than Mrs. E.R. and her
husband, and bore owner/annuitant signatures that did not match the actual signatures of either
Mrs. E.R. or her husband. This partial withdrawal and/or surrender, effectuated by you, BIJAN
RAZDAR, without the knowledge or consent of your clients and contrary to their best interests,
caused them to suffer approximately $3,763 in surrender charge losses. When Mrs. E.R. and her
husband questioned the reason why they received the $50,000 check in the mail from their
Jackson National contract, you, BJIAN RAZDAR, instructed them to deposit this $50,000 into
their bank account at Huntington Bank. You, BIJAN RAZDAR, had a plan for the disposition of
that money.
64, In or around May, 2000, Mrs. E.R. and her husband sold and closed on a piece
of property owned by them. You, BJAN RAZDAR, intercepted the couple as they left the
closing with the check in their hands, and demanded they immediately turn the check over to you
27
for investment. You, BIJAN RAZDAR, contrary to their best interests and with no objectively
reasonable basis for doing so, then used the $50,000 that had been withdrawn from their Jackson
National contract, combined with this $100,000 from the closing of their property, to effectuate
the creation of an new annuity contract #850008324. The transactional occurrences that gave
rise to the creation of this new annuity product caused your clients to suffer losses in surrender
charges in excess of $3,700, but caused commissions to be generated for you, BJAN RAZDAR,
in the amount of $23,800.
65. In or around January, 2002, Mrs. E.R.’s husband passed away. Mrs. E.R., who
had relatively little or no investment experience and did not fully understand the risks associated
with annuity products, at that time relied exclusively on your, BJAN RAZDAR’s, professional
advise and expertise. At a time when the seventy-seven year old widow was grieving the loss of
her husband, you, BJAN RAZDAR, seized an opportunity to generate substantial commissions
for yourself through the use of Mrs. E.R.’s funds.
66. Inor around March, 2002, Mrs. E.R. received a check in the amount of $148,000
representing the death benefit of a contract in which her husband was the annuitant, This was
money that your elderly client had planned to use to pay off her existing mortgage. That same
month, in or around March, 2002, you, BAN RAZDAR, called Mrs. E.R. to your office for the
stated purpose of changing or revising the beneficiaries of the annuities you had previously sold
to her and her husband.
67. On that visit, you, BJAN RAZDAR, using force and intimidation, caused Mrs.
E.R. to surrender the $148,000 death benefit check to you.
68. Also on that visit, you, BIJAN RAZDAR, placed in front of Mrs. E.R. a number
of papers and instructed her to sign. When Mrs. E.R. asked to read the papers she was signing,
you, BJAN RAZDAR, refused to allow your elderly client the opportunity to review the
paperwork, insisting that she “just sign the papers,” and that there was no need to read them.
You, BIIAN RAZDAR, falsely represented to Mrs. M.N. that this paperwork was necessary to
effectuate a change or revision in beneficiaries to her annuity contracts. Based upon the trust she
placed in you, Mrs. M.N. did agree to sign those papers.
69. The forms that you, BJAN RAZDAR, directed Mrs. E.R. sign were not for the
purpose of simply effectuating a change in beneficiaries as you had caused her to believe.
Instead, you, BAN RAZDAR, had caused your client to sign applications for four new Midland
annuity products. “As a result of your fraudulent misrepresentations and material misstatements
or omissions, Mrs. E.R.’s USG annuities were surrendered, and Midland annuity contracts
#8500069576, #8500065989, #8500065990, and #8500065991 were created. These Midland
policies were never delivered to your client. These transactional occurrences, effectuated without .
your client’s knowledge or consent and contrary to her best interests, caused Mrs. E.R. to suffer
approximately $12,875 in surrender charges or penalties, but resulted in commissions to you,
BIJAN RAZDAR, or your wife, Sharon Razdar, in excess of $24,000.
70. Ofthe remaining annuities caused by you, BAN RAZDAR, to be purchased in
or around February and September, 1998, two of these annuities were American Equity contracts
#013426 in the amount of $46,650 and #007511 in the amount of $53,587. Certificates of
Deposit owned by Mrs. E.R. and her husband were liquidated and used, in whole or in part, to
fund these two annuity contracts. In or around September, 2002, you, BIJAN RAZDAR,
contrary to your client’s best interests, caused these two American Equity annuities to be
surrendered, and with the proceeds, caused two new annuity products to be created: Midland
annuities #850010081 and #850010082.
71. You, BAN RAZDAR, without an objectively reasonable basis for believing that
the replacement of your elderly client’s two American Equity annuities would result in an actual
and demonstrable benefit to her, fraudulently represented that such a transactional event would in
fact benefit her. The surrender of the two in force American Equity annuities and subsequent
writing of the two Midland annuities caused Mrs. E.R. to suffer a loss in surrender charges and
penalties in the amount of $10,906, in addition to her losses in seeing her original total principal
investment in these two products of $102,164 reduced to $94,750. However, as a result of these
29
transactional occurrences effectuated by you, BJAN RAZDAR, agent commissions were
generated in excess of $16,100 for the benefit of you and/or your wife, Sharon Razdar.
72. Inthe year 2002 alone, you, BJAN RAZDAR, through the use of fraudulent
misrepresentations and material misstatements or omissions, caused to be created with Mrs.
E.R.’s funds at least six new annuity contracts, each written through Midland. These
transactions resulted in surrender charges and/or penalties to your client of at least $23,700, but
resulted in commissions to you or your wife, Sharon Razdar, in excess of $67,000.
73. Furthermore, at your, BIJIAN RAZDAR’s insistence, Mrs. E.R. used the services
of an accountant of your choosing for her income tax preparation. Adverse tax consequences and
certain monetary losses resulting from the, annuity transactions effectuated by you, BIJAN
RAZDAR, went undiscovered by your client during the years that your recommended accountant
reviewed and prepared her tax materials.
74, In each of the above transactions effectuated by you, BIAN RAZDAR, you
fraudulently represented to ‘your client the terms and conditions of the transactions by either
failing to disclose that the transaction involved a surrender and/or purchase of an annuity
product, or, failing to disclose that surrender charges, penalties, tax consequences, or all three
may apply. You, BJAN RAZDAR, failed to provide Mrs. E.R. with any copies of the
applications she signed, failed to deliver to her copies of her annuity contracts, and failed to
disclose to her that a 10 or 20 day free look provision may have been available to her upon the
purchase of her contracts.
IT IS THEREFORE CHARGED that you, BIIAN RAZDAR, have violated or are
accountable under the following provisions of the Florida Insurance Code and Rules of the
Department of Financial Services which constitute grounds for the suspension or revocation of
your licenses and appointments:
(a) If the license or appointment is willfully used, or to be used, to circumvent
30
any of the requirements or prohibitions of this code. [Section 626.611(4), Florida
Statutes];
(b) Willful misrepresentation of any insurance policy or annuity contract or
willful deception with regard to any such policy or contract, done either in person or by
any form of dissemination of information or advertising. [Section 626.611(5), Florida
Statutes};
(c) Demonstrated lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in the business of
insurance. [Section 626.611(7), Florida Statutes];
(d) Demonstrated lack of reasonably adequate knowledge and technical
competence to engage in the transactions authorized by the license or appointment.
[Section 626.611(8), Florida Statutes];
(e) Fraudulent or dishonest practices in the conduct of business under the
license or appointment. [Section 626.611(9), Florida Statutes];
| (2) Willful failure to comply with, or willful violation of, any proper order or
tule of the department or willful violation of any provision of this code. [Section
626.611(13), Florida Statutes];
(g) Violation of any provision of this code or of any other law applicable to
the business of insurance in the course of dealing under the license or appointment.
[Section 626.621(2), Florida Statutes];
(h) Violation of any lawful order or rule of the department, commission, or
office. [Section 626.621(3), Florida Statutes];
(i) Violation of the provision against twisting, as defined in Section
31
626.9541(1)(). [Section 626.621(5), Florida Statutes];
@) In the conduct of business under the license or appointment, engaging in
unfair methods of competition or in unfair or deceptive acts or practices, as prohibited
under part IX of this chapter, or having otherwise shown himself or herself to be a source
of injury or loss to the public or detrimental to the public interest. [Section 626.621(6),
Florida Statutes];
(k) Ifa life agent, violation of the code of ethics. [Section 626.621(9), Florida
Statutes]; .
(1) Misrepresents the benefits, advantages, conditions, or terms of an
insurance policy. [Section 626.9541(1)(a)(1), Florida Statutes];
(m) Is a misrepresentation for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, the
lapse, forfeiture, exchange, conversion, or surrender of any insurance policy. [Section
626.9541(1)(a)(6), Florida Statutes);
(n) Knowingly making a false or fraudulent written or oral statement or
representation on, or relative to, an application or negotiation for an insurance policy for
the purpose of obtaining a fee, commission, money, or other benefit from any insurer,
agent, broker, or individual. [Section 626.9541(1)(k)(1), Florida Statutes];
(0) Knowingly making any misleading representation or incomplete or
fraudulent comparisons or fraudulent material omissions of or with respect to any
insurance policies or insurers for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, any
person to lapse, forfeit, surrender, terminate, retain, pledge, assign, borrow on, or convert
any insurance policy or to take out a policy of insurance with another insurer. [Section
626.9541(1)(1), Florida Statutes);
(p) Present to the applicant, not later than at the time of taking the application, a
“Notice to Applicant Regarding Replacement of Life Insurance” in the form as described
in Exhibit A. The Notice must be signed by the applicant and the agent and left with the
applicant. [Rule 69B-151.006(1), Florida Administrative Code];
(q) The Business of Life Insurance is hereby declared to be a public trust in
which service all agents of all companies have a common obligation to work together in
serving the best interests of the insuring public, by understanding and observing the laws
governing Life Insurance in letter and in spirit by presenting accurately and completely
every fact essential to a client's decision, and by being fair in all relations with colleagues
and competitors always placing the policyholder's interests first. [Rule 69B-215 210,
Florida Administrative Code};
(r) Twisting is declared to be unethical. No person shall make any misleading
representations or incomplete or fraudulent comparison of any insurance policies or
insurers for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, any person to lapse, forfeit,
surrender, terminate, retain, or convert any insurance policy, or to take out a policy of
insurance in another insurer. [Rule 69B-215.215, Florida Administrative Code];
(s) Misrepresentations are declared to be unethical. No person shall make, issue,
circulate, or cause to be made, issued, or circulated, any estimate, circular, or statement
misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued or the benefits or
advantages promised thereby or the dividends or share of the surplus to be received
thereon, or make any false or misleading statement as to the dividends or share of surplus
previously paid on similar policies, or make any misleading representation or any
misrepresentation as to the financial condition of any insurer, or as to the legal reserve
33
system upon which any life insurer operates, or use any name or title of any policy or
class of policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof. [Rule 69B-215.230(1), Florida
Administrative Code].
COUNT V
75. The above general allegations are hereby realleged and fully incorporated
herein by reference.
76. Through the use of paid radio advertisements, you, BIIAN RAZDAR, targeted
elderly widows and other Florida consumers with the ultimate goal of soliciting them to purchase
unsuitable annuity contracts paying high dollar commissions to you.
77. You, BITAN RAZDAR, paid to have broadcast commercial radio advertisements
on at least one radio station catering primarily to a Pinellas demographic largely comprised of
senior citizens These paid radio advertisements, which were presented over the air in a
deceptively innocent format by virtue of the fact that they appeared to be a “financial show”
rather than a paid advertisement, appeared to feature you, BIIAN RAZDAR, as a guest who
offered beneficial financial advice to listeners. In an effort to give the appearance to listeners that
your advertisement was a legitimate radio program featuring qualified and knowledgeable
financial advice, your radio broadcast featured a host who asked questions of you and boasted
that listeners should call you, BIJAN RAZDAR, for a “free appointment” or “free consultation,”
as “thousands of retirees have done.” In a further attempt to convince listeners that this was a
legitimate radio show, your, BIIAN RAZDAR’s, paid advertisement also touted itself to be the
“longest running financial show on [the] network.”
78. ‘By the use of the radio advertisements, you, BAN RAZDAR, knowingly made,
34
disseminated, or placed before the public advertisements which contained assertions,
representations, or statements with respect to the business of insurance which were untrue,
deceptive, or misleading.
79. More specifically, your, BJAN RAZDAR’s advertisement discussed variable
annuities and fixed annuities. Without regard to listeners’ individual financial circumstances,
and without consideration of the particular sub accounts that may be available to listeners who
were invested in variable annuity products, your, BIIAN RAZDAR’s paid radio advertisement
encouraged listeners to surrender or liquidate any current variable annuity products they may
own for the purpose of investing instead in equity-indexed fixed annuities sold by you and your
wife, Sharon Razdar. Your advertisements, without explanation that in many cases fixed or
conservative sub account options may also be available to investors in variable annuities, and
without explanation that the surrender of any in force annuity product may actually be a
detrimental financial event to an investor, were designed to frighten listeners into purchasing
equity indexed fixed annuities. Your advertisements did this by boldly insisting, with respect to
listeners’ variable annuities, “these accounts still aren’t doing very well and its probably going to
be a long time before they [do] well, due to the fact that a lot of people got out, they had to - the
people that managed these funds had to get rid of the good stuff, so now there’s a lot of
questionable things ...” remaining in variable annuity account portfolios.
80. Your advertisements further stated that listeners should move their money over to
equity-indexed annuities, because their principal would be “safe and guaranteed.” With respect
to the risk associated with these annuity transactions, your, BIIAN RAZDAR’s advertisement
falsely represented that the worst thing that could happen was that the listener would “make a
small percent of interest on [his or her] account.” Without an objectively reasonable basis for
35
believing that the surrender of in force variable annuity products in favor of equity-indexed fixed
annuities would benefit most of your listening audience, you, BJAN RAZDAR, through the use
of these paid advertisements, encouraged listeners to do exactly that.
81. Also, without an objectively reasonable basis for believing such a transaction
would be beneficial to most of your listening audience, you, BAN RAZDAR, encouraged
retired listeners to surrender paid up whole life policies through exchange into annuities. You,
BIJAN RAZDAR, did so by the use of deceptive and misleading statements indicating to
listeners who had paid up whole life policies that they may “be eligible for a tax free exchange”
and be able to not only keep their principal, but also to “earn a double digit return on that
money,” and have a “a living benefit and a death benefit.” You, BITAN RAZDAR, failed to
disclose the risks associated with surrendering a paid up whole life insurance policy, including
but not limited to any possible penalties that may be involved, reduction of death benefits
associated with those funds upon transfer, and the possibility of risk that some elderly consumers
may be otherwise uninsurable, and unable to obtain life insurance once an in force policy is
surrendered.
82. Additionally, with respect to the professional tax advice given to listeners by
accountants, your, BIJAN RAZDAR’s paid advertisement discourages listeners from trusting
such advice because, according your advertisement, these professionals “don’t bother to tell
people” how to save taxes, and “don’t guide [listeners] properly to save more taxes,” rather, they
simply “fill in the numbers.”
83. Furthermore, through the use of your radio advertisements, you, BIIAN
36
RAZDAR, deceptively represented to your listeners that your, BJAN RAZDAR’s, motives for
being in the business of insurance were only to help consumers because you “care” about them,
not for financial gain. In fact, your advertisement states that while you make “some money”
doing this, the amount of money you make is a “very reasonable amount of money,” and that
you, BIJAN RAZDAR, and your wife, Sharon Razdar, sell annuities simply because you “get
such a kick out of helping people” in their golden years.
IT IS THEREFORE CHARGED that you, BIJAN RAZDAR, have violated or are
accountable under the following provisions of the Florida Insurance Code and Rules of the
Department of Financial Services which constitute grounds for the suspension or revocation of
your licenses and appointments:
(a) If the license or appointment is willfully used, or to be used, to circumvent
any of the requirements or prohibitions of this code. [Section 626.611(4), Florida
Statutes];
(b) Wiliful misrepresentation of any insurance policy or annuity contract or
willful deception with regard to any such policy or contract, done either in person or by
any form of dissemination of information or advertising. [Section 626.611(5), Florida
Statutes];
(c) Demonstrated lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in the business of
insurance. [Section 626.611(7), Florida Statutes];
(d) Demonstrated lack of reasonably adequate knowledge and technical
competence to engage in the transactions authorized by the license or appointment.
[Section 626.611(8), Florida Statutes];
(e) Fraudulent or dishonest practices in the conduct of business under the
37
license or appointment. [Section 626.611(9), Florida Statutes];
(® Willful failure to comply with, or willful violation of, any proper order or
rule of the department or willful violation of any provision of this code. [Section
626.611(13), Florida Statutes];
(g) Violation of any provision of this code or of any other law applicable to
the business of insurance in the course of dealing under the license or appointment.
[Section 626.621(2), Florida Statutes];
(h) Violation of any lawful order or rule of the department, commission, or
office. [Section 626.621(3), Florida Statutes]; )
(i) In the conduct of business under the license or appointment, engaging in
unfair methods of competition or in unfair or deceptive acts or practices, as prohibited
under part IX of this chapter, or having otherwise shown himself or herself to be a source
of injury or loss to the public or detrimental to the public interest. [Section 626.621(6),
Florida Statutes];
(j) Ifa life agent, violation of the code of ethics. [Section 626.621(9), Florida
Statutes];
(k) Misrepresents the benefits, advantages, conditions, or terms of an
insurance policy. [Section 626.9541(1)(a)(1), Florida Statutes];
() Is amisrepresentation for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, the
lapse, forfeiture, exchange, conversion, or surrender of any insurance policy. [Section
626.9541(1)(a)(6), Florida Statutes];
(m) Is a misrepresentation for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, the
38
lapse, forfeiture, exchange, conversion, or surrender of any insurance policy. [Section
626.9541 (1)(a)(6), Florida Statutes]; Knowingly making, publishing, disseminating,
circulating, or placing before the public, or causing, directly or indirectly, to be made,
published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public:
‘1. Ina newspaper, magazine, or other publication,
2. In the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter, or poster,
3. Over any radio or television station, or
4, In any other way,
an advertisement, announcement, or statement containing any assertion, representation,
or statement with respect to the business of insurance, which is untrue, deceptive, or
misleading. [Section 626.9654(1)(b), Florida Statutes];
_ (a) Knowingly making a false or fraudulent written or oral statement or
representation on, or relative to, an application or negotiation for an insurance policy for
the purpose of obtaining a fee, commission, money, or other benefit from any insurer,
agent, broker, or individual. [Section 626.9541(1)(k)(1), Florida Statutes);
(0) Knowingly making any misleading representation or incomplete or
fraudulent comparisons or fraudulent material omissions of or with respect to any
insurance policies or insurers for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, any
person to lapse, forfeit, surrender, terminate, retain, pledge, assign, borrow on, or convert
any insurance policy or to take out a policy of insurance with another insurer. [Section
626.9541(1)(), Florida Statutes];
(p) The Business of Life Insurance is hereby declared to be a public trust in
39
which service all agents of all companies have a common obligation to work together in
serving the best interests of the insuring public, by understanding and observing the laws
governing Life Insurance in letter and in spirit by presenting accurately and completely
every fact essential to a client's decision, and by being fair in all relations with colleagues
and competitors always placing the policyholder's interests first. [Rule 69B-215.210,
Florida Administrative Code];
(q) Twisting is declared to be unethical. No person shall make any misleading
representations or incomplete or fraudulent comparison of any insurance policies or
insurers for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, any person to lapse, forfeit,
surrender, terminate, retain, or convert any insurance policy, or to take out a policy of
insurance in another insurer. [Rule 69B-215.215, Florida Administrative Code];
(r) Misrepresentations are declared to be unethical. No person shall make,
issue, circulate, or cause to be made, issued, or circulated, any estimate, circular, or
statement misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued or the benefits or
advantages promised thereby or the dividends or share of the surplus to be received
thereon, or make any false or misleading statement as to the dividends or share of surplus _
previously paid on similar policies, or make any misleading representation or any
misrepresentation as to the financial condition of any insurer, or as to the legal reserve
system upon which any life insurer operates, or use any name or title of any policy or
class of policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof. [Rule 69B-215.230(1), Florida
Administrative Code].
WHEREFORE, you, BIJAN RAZDAR, are hereby notified that the Chief Financial
Officer intends to enter an Order suspending or revoking your licenses and appointments as an
40
insurance agent or to impose such penalties as may be provided under the provisions of Sections
626.611, 626.621, 626.681, 626.691, and 626.9521, Florida Statutes, and under the other
referenced Sections of the Florida Statutes as set out in this Administrative Complaint.
Additionally, you are notified that the Department intends to seek aggravation of the applicable
statutes for the purposes of calculating the total penalty assessed against you, BIIAN RAZDAR,
in consideration of the age and capacity of the victims. You are further notified that any order
entered in this case revoking or suspending any license or eligibility for licensure held by you
shall also apply to all other licensees and eligibility held by you under the Florida Insurance
Code.
NOTICE OF RIGHTS
You have the right to request a proceeding to contest this action by the Department
pursuant to Sections 120.569 and 120.57, Florida Statutes, and Rule 28-107, Florida
Administrative Code. The proceeding request must be in writing, signed by you, and must be
filed with the Department within twenty-one (21) days of your receipt of this notice. Completion
of the attached Election of Proceeding form and/or a petition for administrative hearing will
suffice as a written request. The request must be filed with the General Counsel as acting
Agency Clerk, at the Florida Department of Financial Services, 612 Larson Building, 200 East
Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0333. Your written response must be received by the
Department no later than 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-first day after your receipt of this notice.
Mailing the response on the twenty-first day will not preserve your right to a hearing.
YOUR FAILURE TO RESPOND IN WRITING WITHIN
TWENTY-ONE (21) DAYS OF YOUR RECEIPT OF THIS
NOTICE WILL CONSTITUTE A WAIVER OF YOUR
RIGHT TO REQUEST A PROCEEDING ON THE
MATTERS ALLEGED HEREIN AND AN ORDER OF
REVOCATION WILL BE ENTERED AGAINST YOU.
If you request a proceeding, you must provide information that complies with the
requirements of Rule 28-107.004, Florida Administrative Code. As noted above, completion of
41
the attached Election of Proceeding form conforms to these requirements. Specifically, your
response must contain:
(a) The name and address of the party making the request, for purpose of service;
(b) A statement that the party is requesting a hearing involving disputed issues of
material fact, or a hearing not involving disputed issues of material fact; and
(c) A reference to the notice, order to show cause, administrative complaint, or other
communication that the party has received from the agency.
If a hearing of any type is requested, you have the right to be represented by counsel or
other qualified representative at your expense, to present evidence and argument, to call and
cross-examine witnesses, and to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of
documents by subpoena.
Ifa proceeding is requested and there is no dispute of material fact, the provisions of
Section 120.57(2), Florida Statutes, apply. In this regard, you may submit oral or written
evidence in opposition to the action taken by the Department or a written statement challenging
the grounds upon which the Department has relied. While a hearing is normally not required in
the absence of a dispute of fact, if you feel that a hearing is necessary, one will be conducted in
Tallahassee, Florida, or by telephonic conference call upon your request.
However, if you dispute material facts which are the basis for the Department’s action,
you must request an adversarial proceeding pursuant to Sections 120.569 and 120.57(1), Florida
Statutes. These proceedings are held before a State administrative law judge of the Division of
Administrative Hearings. Unless the majority of witnesses are located elsewhere, the
Department will request that the hearing be conducted in Tallahassee, Florida.
Failure to follow the procedure outlined with regard to your response to this notice may
result in the request being denied. All prior oral communication or correspondence in this matter
shall be considered freeform agency action, and no such oral communication or correspondence
shall operate as a valid request for an administrative proceeding. Any request for an
administrative proceeding received prior to the date of this notice shall be deemed abandoned
unless timely renewed in compliance with the guidelines as set out above.
Mediation of this matter pursuant to Section 120.573, Florida Statutes, is not available.
No Department attorney will discuss this matter with you until the response has been received by
the Department of Financial Services.
DATED and SIGNED this 7th = dayof_ October _, 2005.
Ah \
Ke CHANDLER
Deputy Chief Financial Officer
43
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I] HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing ADMINISTRATIVE
COMPLAINT and ELECTION OF PROCEEDING has been furnished to: BJAN RAZDAR,
4708 Polaris Court, New Port Richey, FL 34652-4427; BIJAN RAZDAR, American
Independent Insurance Services, Inc., 10633 US Highway 19, Port Richey, Florida 34668-2859;
and BIJAN RAZDAR, P.O. Box 700, Port Richey, Florida 34673-0700, by Certified Mail this
day of October 7 , 2005.
Division of Legdl Services
200 East Gaines St.
612 Larson Building
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0333
44
Docket for Case No: 05-004192PL
Issue Date |
Proceedings |
Mar. 30, 2006 |
Settlement Stipulation for Consent Order filed.
|
Mar. 23, 2006 |
Order Closing File. CASE CLOSED.
|
Mar. 22, 2006 |
Agreed Motion to Relinquish Jurisdiction filed.
|
Mar. 16, 2006 |
Order on Motion to Compel Deposition Testimony and to Answer Petitioner`s First Request for Admissions.
|
Mar. 06, 2006 |
Respondent`s Response to Petitioner`s Motion to Compel Respondent to Answer Petitioner`s First Request for Admissions filed.
|
Feb. 27, 2006 |
Respondent`s Response to Petitioner`s Motion to Compel Deposition Testimony filed.
|
Feb. 20, 2006 |
Petitioner`s Motion to Compel Respondent to Answer Petitioner`s First Request for Admissions filed.
|
Feb. 15, 2006 |
Petitioner`s Motion to Compel Deposition Testimony filed.
|
Feb. 08, 2006 |
Order Granting Continuance and Re-scheduling Hearing (hearing set for April 3 through 7 and April 10, 2006; 9:00 a.m.; Tampa, FL).
|
Feb. 06, 2006 |
Petitioner`s First Set of Interrogatories to Respondent filed.
|
Feb. 06, 2006 |
Petitioner`s First Request for Admissions to Respondent filed.
|
Feb. 06, 2006 |
Respondent`s Notice of Serving Responses to Petitioner`s First Set of Interrogatories and First Request for Admissions filed.
|
Jan. 26, 2006 |
Respondent`s Motion for Continuance of Final Hearing filed.
|
Jan. 06, 2006 |
Petitioner`s Notice of Serving Petitioner`s First Request for Admissions to Respondent filed.
|
Jan. 06, 2006 |
Petitioner`s Notice of Serving Petitioner`s First Set of Interrogatories to Respondent filed.
|
Jan. 05, 2006 |
Petitioner`s Answers to Respondent`s First Set of Interrogatories filed.
|
Jan. 05, 2006 |
Petitioner`s Notice of Serving Answers to Respondent`s First Interrogatories filed.
|
Dec. 21, 2005 |
Order Granting Motion to Amend Administrative Complaint.
|
Dec. 20, 2005 |
Respondent`s Response to Petitioner`s Motion for Leave to Amend Administrative Complaint filed.
|
Dec. 12, 2005 |
Respondent`s Notice of Serving First Set of Interrogatories to Petitioner filed.
|
Dec. 12, 2005 |
Respondent`s First Set of Interrogatories to Petitioner filed.
|
Dec. 08, 2005 |
Motion for Leave to Amend Administrative Complaint filed.
|
Dec. 07, 2005 |
Order of Pre-hearing Instructions.
|
Dec. 07, 2005 |
Notice of Hearing (hearing set for February 13 through 17 and February 20, 2006; 9:00 a.m.; Tampa, FL).
|
Nov. 28, 2005 |
Consented Response to Initial Order filed.
|
Nov. 18, 2005 |
Initial Order.
|
Nov. 17, 2005 |
Agency referral filed.
|
Nov. 17, 2005 |
Petition for Formal Hearing filed.
|
Nov. 17, 2005 |
Administrative Complaint filed.
|