American Equity Investment

I put $100,000, my life's savings, into her fixed deferred annuity. I was so stupid in trusting her implicitly, that I did not read the contract, but just signed all the paperwork she was shoving at me. She never explained to me anything as a friend, and I know nothing about investments of annuities. My maturity date is in 2049, when I am 114 years old. I am now 78. Surrender fee is 20%, and I can only take out $5,000 yearly without penalty.

I need to know if I have a case to sue the company, and their agent, and get out my funds. I am a 4-year breast cancer survivor, and need to have accessible funds in the event I have a recurrence. I have no money to hire a lawyer, unless one will take my case on a contingency basis. My case is simple, and a good lawyer can help me break the contract on the basis of "breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing", that is explained in punitive damages. Can I get help from you? She was our accountant at our company, SGS, and we became personal friends of more than 4 years. It is a betrayal of my trust in our friendship.

I have lost control of my funds, and is at the mercy of this insurance company, of just getting $5,000 a year of my own money. My investment is now fragmented with the bulk of my funds, being held by this predator company, and the agent, getting a big commission, because of the amount I put in and the lenght of time of the maturity date. Can you refer me to a lawyer who is willing to take on my case on a contingency basis? Yes, I want you to publish this in your website as American Equity had a class action lawsuit against them in Boca Raton, FL using the same modus operandi it did to me.

The lawsuit was handled by Hargrove Pierson & Brown, and Jeffrey Voudrie named this company in his website "Guarding Your Wealth, Seeking Legal Recourse". I want to alert other senior citizens here in Maryland who are already victims or will be. Do publish my complaint, please. Waiting to hear from you. Thank you.

American Equity Investments makes it very difficult for customers to move their funds when they need them. They utilize several stalling tactics, such as giving you the wrong instructions over the phone,deliberately not including information necessary to move your funds out, and promising to send funds but not following through with their promise. I spoke with M. Mole from American Equity Trust, and he promised on 3/26/09 that my customer's check will be sent.

I called on 3/31/09 to see if they had sent the check, and Carlie from American Equity Investments said it will be sent tomorrow (4/1/09). I asked why it wasn't sent, and Carlie said they have 7-10 days to move the funds. These funds were expected to move within 30 days of receiving the forms. It has been almost 4 months, and they still haven't moved the funds Can you really trust a company with your retirement money if they make promises and don't deliver? I highly recommend against investing with American Equity Investments.

We used this company, as referred by HUD, to refinance our ARM to a fixed rate. After lengthy negotiations with this company over the phone, it was brought to our attention by an attorney that they had fraudelently mislead us into signing part (1/2)interest of our home over to them. They were to have paid off our debts, but instead they literally walked away with the $76,000. None of our debts were paid off, part interest of our home is in bankruptcy and we are now being threaten by JP Morgan Bank that we will possible lose our home. We are really at the mercy of these people now and have no idea of what to do or how its going to turn out. Please contact and advise!!!

I was a business owner before and during this process. Looking to pay off my equipment and have a little savings for working capital in the business, I ended up losing everything, and having my credit destroyed even more, and to seek employment to survive. I took a $100,000 plus loss of annual income. This has devastated me and my family tremendously.

On August 8, 2001 Mr. Patin got me to invest $20,000 in an Annuity at the age of 77. At the end of a 10 year contract the payments will be $201. I briefly heard about the Henrich Gordon case but it is no longer on your site. Did that case settle out of court? Additionally, I think (but am not sure) Mr. Patin is also involved in out Living Trust agreement. The company office is in Des Moines, IA.