Two Texas Men Sentenced For $100 Million Life Settlement Scam that Bilked Over 800 Investors

Adley Abdulwahab and Christian Allmendinger, both principals of A&O Resource Management Ltd., must now serve decades prison for their involvement in a $100M life settlement scheme. Both defendants are from Houston, Texas. The Texas State Securities Board, the SEC, the IRS, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI, and the Virginia Corporation Commission all investigated this life settlement scam. Over 800 investors in the US and Canada were defrauded
Allmendinger, who is vice-president and co-founder of A & O, was orderd to serve 45 years in prison, while Abdulwahab, who is part owner of A & O and a hedge fund manager is to serve 60 years. Both men were indicted on 18 counts. Also pleading guilty to the life settlement scheme was ex-A & O president David White and four others.

According to the US Justice Department, investors, who wanted conservative investments, were misled into thinking that investing in A & O was a no-risk, safe bet when in fact, it was a “sham.” Among the victims were hundreds of retirees who lost their savings because they invested in A & O. Almendinger and Abdulwahab used investors’ money to pay for expensive cars, luxury homes, and extravagant jewelry.

Abdulwahab and Allmendinger both marketed A & O life settlement investment products to investors. Per the court, the principals misrepresented A & O’s prior success to investors, while also exaggerating its size as a business. Abdulwahab also not only lied about his credentials but also did not disclose that he had pleaded guilty to a Texas felony charge of forgery of a commercial instrument.

When state regulators started looking into A & O’s financial instruments, the fraudsters made up a bogus sales transaction to “sell” the company to shell corporate entity Blue Dymond and Physician’s Trust, also a shell corporate entity. While the sale ended Allmendinger’s ties with the life settlement scam, Abdullah and his co-fraudsters still secretly controlled and continued the financial scheme until September 2009. The majority of the investors were seniors and most of them lost everything they’d invested. For many, this was their entire retirement.

It is unfortunate when an investor loses money because he/she was the victim of financial fraud. Recently, the North American Securities Administrators Association added securitized life settlement contracts on its list of practices and products that are a threat to investors. In many instances, schemes involve “worthless paper” that doesn’t keep up enough assets so that there is a guaranteed fixed return in a fixed time period.

Texas Fund Managers Sentenced Over Life-Settlement Scheme, The Wall Street Journal, September 28, 2011
Life settlements just one more potential scam in recent troubled times, San Diego Source, September 6, 2011
Principals Of A&O Entities Sentenced In Virginia For $100 Million Fraud Scheme, Justice.gov, September 28, 2011

Financial Scammers Are Now Using YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Other Websites to Target Investors, Warns Texas Securities Commissioner, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, September 22, 2011
Ex-UBS Financial Adviser Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Private Fund Investors, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, July 13, 2011
AIG Trying to Get More Investors to Buy Life Settlements, Institutional Investors Securities Blog, April 26, 2011
Our Texas securities fraud law firm has represented many elderly investors that have lost their retirement savings because they were defrauded. There may be a way to recoup your losses.