El Segundo Ponzi Scheme Targets Latinos
Headline Legal News
An El Segundo woman took $23 million in a Ponzi scheme that targeted Latinos, the SEC says in Los Angles Federal Court. Clelia A. Flores and her business, Maximum Return Investments, took the money from more than 150 people in seven states, by "guaranteeing" 25 percent returns in 45 days, the SEC says.
Flores roped in customers by offering high-yielding investments in oil, gold, and real estate, the SEC says. It claims she spent more than $3.5 million of it on herself, $443,000 to buy a home, and almost $1.5 million to finance MRI's operations and pay for a lavish party to celebrate the company's alleged success.
Flores promised "guaranteed" returns of up to 25 percent within 45 days, according to the complaint. But she allegedly used only $5.6 million to invest in high-risk ventures and start-up companies that never paid MRI any returns. She allegedly ran the scam from 2006 through 2008.
The SEC seeks an injunction, disgorgement, and fines.
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Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs
When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.
In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.
In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.