33-1-1304. Viatical settlement fraud. Viatical settlement fraud consists of but is not limited to the following committed by a person or the person’s agents or employees:

Terms Used In Montana Code 33-1-1304

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. Source: OCC
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
  • Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201

(1)acts or omissions by any person who, knowingly and with intent to defraud, for the purpose of depriving another of property or for pecuniary gain, engages in or permits the person’s employees or agents to engage in acts that include but are not limited to:

(a)presenting, causing to be presented, or preparing with knowledge and belief that it will be presented to or by a viatical settlement provider, viatical settlement broker, premium finance lender, life insurer, life insurance producer, or any other person false material information; or

(b)concealing material information as part of, in support of, or concerning a fact material to one or more of the following:

(i)an application for the issuance of a viatical settlement contract or life insurance policy;

(ii)the underwriting of a viatical settlement contract or life insurance policy;

(iii)a claim for payment or benefit pursuant to a viatical settlement contract or life insurance policy;

(iv)premiums paid on a life insurance policy;

(v)payments and changes in ownership or beneficiary made in accordance with the terms of a viatical settlement contract or life insurance policy;

(vi)the reinstatement or conversion of a life insurance policy;

(vii)the solicitation, offer to enter into, or effectuation of a viatical settlement contract or life insurance policy;

(viii)the issuance of written evidence of viatical settlement contracts or life insurance; or

(ix)any application for, the existence of, or any payments related to a loan secured directly or indirectly by any interest in a life insurance policy.

(2)employing any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud in the business of viatical settlements;

(3)removing, concealing, altering, destroying, or sequestering from the commissioner the assets or records of a licensee or other person engaged in the business of viatical settlements;

(4)misrepresenting or concealing the financial condition of a licensee, financing entity, insurer, or other person;

(5)transacting the business of viatical settlements in violation of laws requiring a license, certificate of authority, or other legal authority for the transaction of the business of viatical settlements;

(6)filing with the commissioner or the chief insurance regulatory official of another jurisdiction a document containing false information or otherwise concealing information about a material fact;

(7)engaging in embezzlement, theft, misappropriation, or conversion of money, funds, premiums, credits, or other property of a viatical settlement provider, viatical settlement broker, insurer, insured, policy owner, or any other person engaged in the business of viatical settlements or life insurance;

(8)knowingly and with intent to defraud entering into, brokering, or otherwise dealing in a viatical settlement contract the subject of which is a life insurance policy that was obtained by presenting false information concerning any fact material to the policy or by concealing, for the purpose of misleading another, information concerning any fact material to the policy if the policy owner or the owner’s agent intended to defraud the issuer of the policy;

(9)attempting to commit or to assist, aid, or abet in the commission of or conspiring to commit the acts or omissions specified in this section; or

(10)misrepresenting the state of residence of a policy owner to be a state or jurisdiction that does not have a law substantially similar to Montana’s Viatical Settlement Act, Title 33, chapter 20, part 13, or this part for the purpose of evading or avoiding the provisions of Montana law.

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