(Asbury University) The nonstop, two-week prayer session at Asbury University that brought tens of thousands of people from across the country to the Christian campus in Kentucky has finally ended. He invested in the life settlements in 2015 after attending one of Vagnozzis free meals. Pauciulo, in his rebuttal pleading this year, holds firm to that argument, saying, LaFortes criminal conviction for mortgage fraud did not need to be disclosed because it was more than 10 years old.. In these, investors pay a discounted rate to the elderly for their life insurance policies, assume the burden of the premiums and bet the sellers will die quickly enough to make a big profit. One investor told The Inquirer he put in his $50,000 at Vagnozzis urging in February 2015, a month after the bankruptcy. On July 14, Vagnozzi and one of his companies agreed to pay a $95,000 penalty to settle accusations that he sold $32 million in Pillar funds to 339 investors without registering his products with the SEC as securities. He contends that he ordered Pauciulo to do a deep-dive, due-diligence background check on Par Funding, and that the lawyer reported back, There are no red flags. Pauciulo denies saying that and says the requested dive wasnt deep, but little more than an emailed quiz. After being put under receivership, the federal judge overseeing the case ceased electronic access to Par Fundings company records on August 15, 2020. Supporters of life settlement investments say they are a boon for policyholders who need cash now and investors who profit well by supplying it. Update on A Better Financial Plan. A receivers purpose is to, administer and manage their [companies under receivership] business affairs, funds, assets, causes of action and any other property of the Companies; marshal and safeguard all of the Companies assets; and take whatever actions are necessary for the protection of investors, according to Document 4, filed on July 24, 2020 in the United States District Court of the Southern District of Florida. Since 2010 Vagnozzi has also promoted the life settlement funds, in which investors buy life insurance policies from elderly people who have sold them cheap for cash. The judge overseeing the case also warned that investors may not have all of their money returned, if any, depending on the outcome of the case and the future of Par Funding. Until Vagnozzi and Pauciulo turned against each other, they had been able to weather increasingly rocky weather together. The SEC didnt name Pauciulo as a defendant in its lawsuit. His appeal was to an aging middle-class who had done well during the 1980s and 1990s stock booms, only to be burned by the 2001 tech collapse and the deeper financial crisis of 2008. The receiver has seized them, too. Vagnozzi has fought back against the SEC, rejecting its complaint as groundless. The businesses who received these advances were forced to close and could no longer keep up their payments to Par Funding, creating a chain reaction through A Better Financial Plan causing their investors to not receive their monthly payments. Vagnozzi also came under scrutiny when the receiver uncovered a legal settlement payment made from a bank account to a client who had refused to sign a new deal with Par Funding. His natural enthusiasm and magnetic energy eventually led Vagnozzi to a successful sales career at SAP, Deloitte Consulting and Anderson. But for his fund, Bennett said, that was the last big payout. Dean Vagnozzi and John Pauciulo were genial partners in a growing financial business, for 16 years. Jobs Dean received a Bachelor of Science degree from Albright College. He said Pauciulo had informed him about LaForte's criminal record in 2017, but advised him he didn't have to tell investors. (Attachments: #1 Memorandum Coventry First LLC's Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Dismiss Class Action Complaint, #2 Text of Proposed Order Proposed Order)(MOORE, RICHMOND) In receivership documents DE-227 and DE-238, Stumphauzer outlines findings to the court that claimed Vagnozzi did not include a full and accurate depiction of his finances and omitted a bank account in a July 2020 filing that was used by A Better Financial Plan to collect money paid by Par Funding for the Merchant Cash Advance investments. Jim Wollyung, 64, a retired Philadelphia trucking company employee, has invested $900,000 in Vagnozzi ventures since 2018. Total. Posted on June 29, 2022 what happened to dean vagnozzi. He also said A Better Financial Plan would no longer manage the funds. Instead, the 16-year industry veteran is bucking the trend of the run-of-the mill 401(k) retirement planning strategies by connecting average Americans with investment opportunities usually reserved for the ultra-rich all while earning consistent, high-level results on behalf of his clients . KING OF PRUSSIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 9, 2020 / Dean Vagnozzi is not your average financial planner. Son of the late Pasquale and Rosa Naticchia Vagnozzi . But in April, he turned his fire in a new direction suing his old ally, Pauciulo, in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia. Vagnozzi empowers middle class investors to generate returns typically reserved for the uber rich. Whats at stake for Florida healthcare in next weeks legislative session? Dean Vagnozzi is an accomplished entrepreneur with a successful sales and finance background. Dean Vagnozzi takes a new look at the way people handle retirement: making your money work for you, rather than tucking it away where you can't access it until .more Get A Copy Kindle Unlimited $0.00 Amazon Stores Or buy for $19.99 Kindle Edition, 222 pages Published February 17th 2020 by Jenkins Group, Inc More Details. But he is not unschooled in business. Vagnozzi, 52, graduated from Albright College in Reading in 1990 with an accounting degree. For more information about the SEC case against Vagnozzi and Par Funding, SEC Receiver Ryan Stumphauzer set up a website where concerned citizens, investors, and others can access key documents to stay up-to-date as the case unfolds. Join Facebook to connect with Dean Vagnozzi and others you may know. In a note to clients, he summarized the SEC order this way: All they can say is they dont like my advertising methods.. Prosecutors criminally charged LaForte with illegal possession of firearms four handguns, two shotguns, and a rifle as a twice-convicted felon. He found few leads but is still puzzled by the lack of payments. Vagnozzi says he paid Pauciulo more than $1 million in fees. Around 1,200 investors were solicited through advertisements and free dinner seminars and promised high returns with little to no . He told many of his investors in life-settlements that the elderly whose policies they had invested in werent dying as fast as predicted, which means investors' payments werent arriving as forecast. A spokesperson for Vagnozzi's lawyer, George Bochetto, said Vagnozzi's memory had gotten mixed up. Vagnozzi said in a complaint last month that faulty legal advice he'd received from Pauciulo had left him open to claims from the SEC stemming from his work soliciting investors for the cash. The website for his firm, A Better Financial Plan, touts returns of 10% to 14% and $200 million . Last year, Vagnozzi agreed to pay almost $500,000 to resolve a civil complaint from Pennsylvania financial regulators for steering people into Par Funding without proper registration to do so. This website is strictly for educational purposes and is not intended to provide specific legal, financial, or tax advice. Golf has a reputation for creating business opportunities. July 14, 2020 - The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed settled charges against Philadelphia-based Abetterfinancialplan.com, LLC (d/b/a A Better Financial Plan, LLC) (ABFP) and its owner, Dean J. Vagnozzi, for selling more than $32 million in securities to retail investors in unregistered offerings and for together acting as an Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox. "I apologize for how poorly this fund has performed, he said. How investing in your community can enhance business, Ohio man pleads guilty to investment and retirement fund fraud scheme, SECURE 2.0 helping solve serious demographic problem, Niagara Falls woman going to prison for stealing from investment firm clients, GOP-sponsored ethical investment rule rollback may draw first Biden veto. On July 24, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), brought an emergency action against a number of individuals and entities, including but not limited to Dean J. Vagnozzi and his Pennsylvania-based company, A Better Financial Plan, for their roles in an alleged half billion dollar fraud scheme. Staff writer Joseph DiStefano contributed this article. In his lawsuit against his former lawyer, Vagnozzi told a different story. The agency this year reached a deal with Vagnozzi under which he and his business paid a $600,000 penalty in connection to his fundraising for Ford. He was among a group who, in 2010, each put an average of nearly $50,000 into the first of Vagnozzis life settlement funds, called Pillar 1. ANGELO VAGNOZZI OBITUARY. In that time, his firms took in $17 million in revenue. Many home shopping fans (including me) were shocked to hear the news that two long time, and popular QVC on-air hosts, Dan Hughes and Carolyn Gracie, had been let go. READ MORE: Can Par Funding receiver collect enough cash from business to pay investors? NBC News obtained a videotape of an investor pitch dinner in Nov. 2019 hosted by Dean Vagnozzi, head of an investment firm that raised money for Par and was sued by the SEC. Possible owners of this property per the most recent deed. at 2, and Defendants Perry Abbonizio and Dean Vagnozzi filed Notices of Joinder to the Motion on October 6, 2021 and October 20, 2021, respectively, [ECF Nos. A third, filed by Philadelphia lawyer Clifford Haines on behalf of 17 people who set up pools that pumped nearly $50 million into Par, names just Pauciulo and his firm. The life expectancies were terrible, he wrote investors. Any company or individual found violating these federal trademarks will be vigorously pursued through all available legal avenues and penalized to the fullest extent of the law. Vagnozzi and Par say those allegations are false. According to government records, one of his firms this year received federal payroll aid, called a Paycheck Protection Program loan, of between $150,000 and $350,000. Its the largest firm in the industry, according to annual data compiled by the Life Settlement Report, the industry newsletter. Laid-off Regal Beloit workers can get trade adjustment benefits [The Times, Munster, Ind. The records dont disclose the precise amount of the loan, designed to help businesses keep employees on staff during the pandemic.). 7. In those earlier filings, Vagnozzi also argued that there was no legal requirement that investors be told about LaFortes convictions. The deal calls for the SEC to come up with a figure to be approved after a hearing by U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II, who has presided over the case from a federal courtroom in Miami. LaForte's lawyers deny those allegations. On the video, in which Par executives also appear, Vagnozzi promises investors returns of between 10 percent and 14 percent, saying that the outsized returns were possible . Though an unusual business one Vagnozzi investor calls it creepy the field is thriving. 5/28/19 Debt Rehab, LLC (PDF) Investors sue King of Prussia financial adviser Dean Vagnozzi and his lawyer (inquirer.com) How Philly investors were drawn into what SEC alleges is $500 million fraud (inquirer.com) Facing fraud lawsuit, Montco financial salesman Dean Vagnozzi turns against his longtime lawyer (inquirer.com) Vagnozzi Settles SEC Cash-Advance Fraud Suit By Fr. It was the last state funeral until Queen Elizabeth II's on 19 September 2022. Possible Owners. do not recommend or sell securities to anyone at any time. But investors have. For Vagnozzi and his clients, life settlements have been a bumpy road. The suit alleges that Par Funding's owners, Vagnozzi and the other defendants defrauded 1,200 investors, hiding from them Par's shaky finances, reckless lending, and the criminal past of a Par founder. Hes also developed a taste for luxury cars, such as a $230,000 Aston Martin Vanquish and a Maserati Levante SUV, which starts at about $70,000. Golf is one of the greatest facilitators of business because the game is accessible to people of all ages and skill levels. One was Par Funding, in which investors financed high-interest cash advances to merchants. A mass prayer gathering at Asbury University drew worshippers from across the country to campus. (Tucker, Scott) August 7, 2020: Filing 5 MOTION for Pro Hac Vice Appearance of Attorney Marc H. Edelson - filed by Joan Caputo, Joseph Caputo. But in 2010 the Wall Street Journal reported that Pardos firm was relying heavily on an assembly-line doctor who was systematically under-predicting life expectancies. The SEC is expecting to recover far more from the remaining . 28 de mayo de 2018. In its more recent lawsuit, the SEC cited that as an example of his repeated misrepresentations. A few days after I had talked with the prenovices about the . He said Vagnozzi had ignored legal advice, brushed aside warnings that Par had refused to answer questions, and now was vastly exaggerating Pauciulos role. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says Vagnozzi and Par Funding misled investors about Par's financial soundness and the criminal past of a founder. Last summer, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission took a less enthusiastic view. Details (610) 948-3172. One, Pillar 8 Life Settlement Fund LP, is made up of policies that cost investors a total of about $10 million, according to data shared with The Inquirer by an investor. what happened to dean vagnozzi. As a group, about 1,500 merchants owe Par Funding about $350 million, but much of that appears to be non-collectible. Emails obtained by The Inquirer show that Vagnozzi told investors earlier this year he was sorry about the life settlement investments he has also sold, deals in which investors bet on the life insurance policies of the elderly. As Stumphauzer took over receivership of both Par Funding and A Better Financial Plan, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) raided Par Fundings headquarters along with multiple properties belonging to Joseph Laforte, the co-owner of Par Funding. In time, his A Better Financial Plan grew to employ about 15 people. The judge had no contract with me or any right to freeze my investment, much less confiscate it. Vagnozzis father was a suburban police officer who became a lawyer and chair of the Upper Merion supervisors. If he gets a significant judgment from Eckert, well go after that, Lechtzin said. An accounting graduate from Albright College, Dean Vagnozzi enjoys relaxing on the beach during his free time. Published by at 16 de junio de 2022. He has pleaded not guilty. In Lechtzins analysis, any Vagnozzi win over his former lawyer and his law firm wont restore his fortunes. Dean Graziosi is a leading world-class action taker! But in court already, Vagnozzi and his former lawyer have exchanged blows regarding a crucial issue in the SEC case: Vagnozzis choice not to tell investors that Joseph LaForte, one of the founders of Par Funding, was a twice-convicted financial criminal. Since 2016, he had urged customers to invest in funds linked to a Philadelphia firm known as Par Funding. He claimed, The issues with Life Partners werent disclosed to me.. Life Partners founder Brian Pardo lived well in Waco, Texas, for a time. The SEC and the defendants are fighting over the civil suit in federal court. Vagnozzi has lived well as his business grew. The main event the federal civil fraud trial led by SEC lawyer Amie Riggle Berlin is scheduled for December. On October 31, 2020, Judge Ruiz of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered an order releasing from the Receivership certain entities owned or controlled by Defendant Dean Vagnozzi. The SEC considers the issuer who sells the securities to have primary liability.. My impeccable credit score was destroyed. His million-dollar-plus yearly income fell to zero.. This provided Par with the legal hammer for the quick withdrawals. Police will provide an update shortly in the ongoing investigation into the death of the baby of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon. Dean Vagnozzi, the owner of A Better Financial Plan, helps his clients find ways to build wealth without gambling on the stock market.Outside of his work, Dean Vagnozzi enjoys playing golf. Pauciulo, 55, is a Temple law grad who has been with the Pittsburgh-based Eckert Seamans firm for more than a decade, leading its financial transaction group out of its Philadelphia office. Fund documents show that he was among 99 investors who put up about $12 million and were told they could reap $21 million. Nobody has missed a payment," he said. The court never contacted me or informed me about the fund that they froze and ultimately plundered. The headline read: Montgomery County investors double their money sooner than expected. The photo showed the smiling couple and Vagnozzi holding a giant mock check. But that hasnt happened, investors said. In DE-238 the SEC ordered that those funds be placed under control of the receiver as they were moved from the MK account at Citizens Bank into Vagnozzis personal bank account at the end of July. Now 77, he has been socked with penalties totaling $28 million. As for Vagnozzi, he was once a ubiquitous presence on Philadelphia media, spending heavily on ads to urge people to put money into his alternatives to the stock markets. Investors who refused were paid back in-part, or in-full and in late July 2020, Vagnozzi removed the remaining funds, which consisted of more than $500,000 in the MK Corporate Debt bank account and placed that money into his personal bank account this account and transfer was not disclosed in Vagnozzis July court filing per the receivers orders. No other way to say it., READ MORE: Par Funding owner seeks release from prison, agrees to SEC control until civil fraud trial. READ MORE: In SEC fraud lawsuit, Par Fundings receiver squares off with adviser Dean Vagnozzi over money freeze. He never pulled me aside and told me what I was saying was wrong, or was a violation of securities law, Vagnozzi said in an email to The Inquirer. In addition, he put investors into new ventures that combined life insurance buys with Par Funding. As SEC crackdown loomed and business fell, Par Funding's founders bought watches for $154,000. (He asked not to be named, saying he was embarrassed about his investment.). One investor told The Inquirer he put in his $50,000 at Vagnozzi's urging in February 2015 . The faster sellers die, the bigger the payoff. He is Dean Vagnozzi's brother and vice chair of the township supervisors for Upper Providence in Montgomery County. As a felon, he is barred from possessing guns. Unlike with Pars owners, the SEC doesnt accuse Vagnozzi of taking clients money. Of the 8 cases of fraud outlined against the defendants, 7 of them included Vagnozzi and a Better Financial Plan. In the spring, the funds invested in Par missed two months of payments to investors. After a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in July revealed he was selling millions in unregistered securities to clients who were not wealthy enough to buy them under industry rules, his customers are probably calling Vagnozzi and . June 1, 2022 1:43 PM PT. Posted in. The man . Payments on investments had arrived as promised, he said. Receiver Stumphauzer is still seeking to collect some of that from Par Funding's borrowers. In his suit, Vagnozzi says that Pauciulo told him about LaFortes criminal record in about 2017, but that the lawyer also said everyone deserves a second chance and that Vagnozzi didnt have to tell investors about it. He and his wife, Christa, have raised four children and live in a Collegeville house he valued for the court at $800,000. content for publishing on our website. The Motion is made on behalf of Defendants Joseph LaForte, Lisa McElhone, and Joseph Cole Barleta, Mot. In April, Vagnozzi sued his longtime lawyer, John Pauciulo, of the Philadelphia firm of Eckert Seamans, blaming him for bad advice. The settlement concluded in principle with the client receiving a check for $550,000; however, the actual payment did not transact until after Vagnozzi had been placed under receivership. Even before the SEC lawsuit, Vagnozzi has agreed to pay $1.1 million since 2018 to resolve complaints from federal and state financial regulators about his sales techniques. This order can be viewed under "Key . Many buyers, the agency found, lacked the wealth that the SEC rules require to make such investments. This defense goes unmentioned in the Philadelphia suit. Vagnozzi told the SEC that he didnt like being a broker, and went into it reluctantly anyway. Vagnozzi's agreement earlier this year to pay the $5 million was the third time since 2019 that he has agreed to pay large sums to resolve complaints from regulators. One early investor was Robert Sullivan, 60, manager of a Philadelphia transportation company. Any interviews conducted by Retirement Media, Inc . Every Friday on SiriusXM radio's The Dean Obeidallah show it's time for "What Just Happened? Huevos directos desde la finca a tu casa. Vagnozzis brother, Albert, also a financial salesman and a township supervisor in Montgomery County, has sued Pauciulo, too. Precisely how much they will all pay is still to be determined. I write about people and money in our community and beyond. The SEC's senior trial counsel in the case, Amie Riggle Berlin, declined to comment Wednesday as did Eric Bustillo, director of the SEC's Miami regional office. what happened to dean vagnozzi. Crash Proof Retirement, Crash Proof Retirement Show, and Retirement Media, Inc. , and all related uses, are federally trademarked with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. November 9, 2020. Montgomery County financial pitchman Dean Vagnozzi, once well-known through his ubiquitous radio ads and free dinner seminars, has agreed to pay $5 million to resolve a complaint from the U.S . By April he was writing that Par Funding appears to be insolvent.. In an email to an Inquirer reporter, Vagnozzi said some of the life-settlements investments have done very well recently, returning sizable gains. Pardo bought four planes and a yacht along with such artifacts as replicas of an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus and a pharaohs throne. Isaac Chehebar, who invested $15 million of his family total, also declined comment. Instead, it says he failed to register investments as securities and to warn buyers of the risks risks that became undeniable when Par stopped paying investors last year. what happened to dean vagnozzi. The SEC said Par Funding, Vagnozzi, and the others raised nearly $500 million by misleading investors about the lender's reckless loan underwriting, high defaults on the money it lent, lack of business insurance, and history of regulatory trouble. But Vagnozzis latest bet was on Par Funding, the Old City firm at the center of the SEC fraud suit. March 1, 2023 / 9:45 PM / CBS Philadelphia. In two previous cases, he. In July, the SEC named him as a defendant in the civil suit about Par Funding. In this 2013 photo, Montgomery County financial adviser Dean Vagnozzi stands in a room at Ruth Chris Steakhouse in King of Prussia, where he has pitched potential investors about putting their money into life settlements. When you're looking for a financial advisor who will turn your usual standards on their head, Dean Vagnozzi is the perfect way to fit those needs. Turning to the investors, he said, "Raise your hands who here is getting double-digit return on their money?, All of this, the dinners, and payout events, the heavy ad buys, drew the attention of the SEC, which has rules that bar financial advisers from selling unregistered securities to the public through general solicitation.. Dean J Vagnozzi. Pauciulo, a partner at a big law firm, packaged unconventional investments for Vagnozzis clients, reviewed his radio ads, attended his dinner sales pitches, and sat literally at his right hand to assure investors that it was all sound and legal. A spokesperson for Vagnozzis lawyer said: Dean was going from memory and simply got the year wrong.. He began selling more than life insurance: he urged investors to put their money into alternatives" approaches to the stock market and its volatility. He could move their remaining investment into something with a higher return. Dean Vagnozzi said that Eckert Seamans attorney John Pauciulo had failed to either uncover or disclose the risks of a partnership with Complete Business Solutions Group Inc., which did business as . Over the years, he has refined his unconventional investing approach in ways that extend well beyond the "cookie cutter" strategies employed at many firms. In an Oct. 31 court order, he agreed to sell or transfer his financial interest in funds others than those tied to Par Funding. Kirby of London, ON Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer. Two suits named both Pauciulo and Vagnozzi as defendants. Gerald J Nave. We get a few checks periodically, he said, but Id have been better holding on to my company stock.. When two more policyholders died this year, he says, the Vagnozzi rep who sold him the fund told him there wasnt enough money to pay him. While the case against Par Funding, Vagnozzi, and other defendants looks to be headed to trial, it is unclear what this will mean for A Better Financial Plans investors who did and did not sign the renegotiated note. Dean Vagnozzi is on Facebook. MENU MENU. The Vagnozzis have made charitable gifts, too. published on this website are not to be considered endorsements. My phone was ringing off the hook from hundreds of people, hundreds of panicked people.". He also recommended investments in real estate, in the outcome of lawsuits and in a startup promoting new addiction-treatment software. They often sell the policies to middlemen, who in turn sell them to investment funds, like those run by Vagnozzi. It was a very it was a very difficult day. Vagnozzis main policy source at first was a Texas firm, Life Partners Inc., a pioneer in acquiring and marketing policies. As outlined in DE-227, this new bank account, MK Corporate Debt at Citizens Bank, was set up for the purpose of paying off investors who rejected the renegotiated 4% note that was released in the late Spring of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Pars merchant cash advance loans were another in the kind of unconventional investments Vagnozzi was looking for to supplement previous pitches, notably for investments in life-insurance policies sold at a discount by the elderly. (In all, Vagnozzi has agreed to pay $1.1 million since 2018 to resolve complaints from federal and state regulators. Last year, Vagnozzi and his wife gave $27,000 to St. Josephs University for a covered bench for the soccer team, which included their daughter, Gabrielle. But the firm cut back returns to just 4% in early 2020.