http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/paralegal39years/15766 The following are public official comments concerning AmeriEstate Legal Plan, Inc. doing business as Alpha Omega Family Services that will be in Tehachapi on Monday, October 15, 2007 at the Senior Center from 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm. . The thought was striking -- why are rich folks from Orange County coming all the way to Tehachapi where the train still goes through the middle of town?  . The folliwng are published statements concerning the group coming to Tehachapi on Monday, Oct. 15, 2007: . "AmeriEstate was fined for violations of Pennsylvania's Consumer Protection Law by the Pennsylvania Attorney General in 2003. Estate Preservation, Inc. was the subject of a 2002 California Department of Insurance action alleging fraudulent business practices. Gentry Group, Inc. was the subject of enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission in 1997, the Attorney General of Oregon in 2001, and the California Department of Corporations in 2004 alleging deceptive trade practices." . (NOTE: AmeriEstate Legal Plan, Inc. – that began a few short years ago in 1999 -- has enjoyed phenomenal growth – and is currently located in Costa Mesa, CA; Irvine, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; Dallas, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Atlanta, GA; Virginia Beach, VA; Nashville, TN and Phoenix, AZ.) . The plaintiffs are represented by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and by Renne Sloan Holtzman & Sakai, LLP. . " The companies, American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company, based in Iowa; American Investment Life Insurance Company, based in Kansas; AmeriEstate Legal Plan, Inc., based in Irvine, CA; Estate Preservation, Inc., based in El Segundo, CA; and Gentry Group, Inc., based in Texas, are charged with elder abuse, false advertising, and violating California's Unfair Business Practices law by selling annuities with severe tax penalties, exorbitant surrender charges, and long maturation dates to senior citizens." . "Unless you have a life expectancy of 110, buying an annuity at age 70 or 80 is not a good idea," said David Werdegar, M.D., President and CEO of the Institute on Aging. "These so-called estate planning companies are, we believe, misrepresenting the nature of the services they are providing. We are joining others to tell them they are not going to get away with it any longer."                                                                                                         . "We believe that these companies are in the business of elder abuse, it's that simple," said Patricia McGinnis, Executive Director of CANHR. "They trick vulnerable people into acting against their own best interests. It is not only unconscionable, it is illegal, and we think the time has come for the courts to act." . "We want to alert seniors not to attend living trust seminars without knowing the facts," said Jenefer Duane, CEO and Executive Director of Elder Financial Protection Network (EFPN), a Novato-based organization that helps prevent financial abuse against seniors. "The estate planning seminar you are thinking of attending may be a front for an annuity sales pitch," she noted. "Never get rushed into a financial decision. Do not sign your savings over to an estate planner without first getting independent advice."     The following are public official comments concerning AmeriEstate Legal Plan, Inc. doing business as Alpha Omega Family Services that will be in Tehachapi on Monday, October 15, 2007 at the Senior Center from 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm. . The thought was striking -- why are rich folks from Orange County coming all the way to Tehachapi where the train still goes through the middle of town?  . The folliwng are published statements concerning the group coming to Tehachapi on Monday, Oct. 15, 2007: . "AmeriEstate was fined for violations of Pennsylvania's Consumer Protection Law by the Pennsylvania Attorney General in 2003. Estate Preservation, Inc. was the subject of a 2002 California Department of Insurance action alleging fraudulent business practices. Gentry Group, Inc. was the subject of enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission in 1997, the Attorney General of Oregon in 2001, and the California Department of Corporations in 2004 alleging deceptive trade practices." . (NOTE: AmeriEstate Legal Plan, Inc. – that began a few short years ago in 1999 -- has enjoyed phenomenal growth – and is currently located in Costa Mesa, CA; Irvine, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; Dallas, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Atlanta, GA; Virginia Beach, VA; Nashville, TN and Phoenix, AZ.) . The plaintiffs are represented by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and by Renne Sloan Holtzman & Sakai, LLP. . " The companies, American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company, based in Iowa; American Investment Life Insurance Company, based in Kansas; AmeriEstate Legal Plan, Inc., based in Irvine, CA; Estate Preservation, Inc., based in El Segundo, CA; and Gentry Group, Inc., based in Texas, are charged with elder abuse, false advertising, and violating California's Unfair Business Practices law by selling annuities with severe tax penalties, exorbitant surrender charges, and long maturation dates to senior citizens." . "Unless you have a life expectancy of 110, buying an annuity at age 70 or 80 is not a good idea," said David Werdegar, M.D., President and CEO of the Institute on Aging. "These so-called estate planning companies are, we believe, misrepresenting the nature of the services they are providing. We are joining others to tell them they are not going to get away with it any longer."                                                                                                         . "We believe that these companies are in the business of elder abuse, it's that simple," said Patricia McGinnis, Executive Director of CANHR. "They trick vulnerable people into acting against their own best interests. It is not only unconscionable, it is illegal, and we think the time has come for the courts to act." . "We want to alert seniors not to attend living trust seminars without knowing the facts," said Jenefer Duane, CEO and Executive Director of Elder Financial Protection Network (EFPN), a Novato-based organization that helps prevent financial abuse against seniors. "The estate planning seminar you are thinking of attending may be a front for an annuity sales pitch," she noted. "Never get rushed into a financial decision. Do not sign your savings over to an estate planner without first getting independent advice."     en-us