Mutual Benefits Corporation was a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida based investment sales company that operated a huge ponzi scheme selling viatical settlements, with investors losing an estimated $835 million. Mutual Benefits Corp. was started by Joel Steinger, who listed himself as a consultant to the company because he had a criminal background and had been barred by the Securities and Exchange Commission from trading securities. The company purchased life insurance policies at a discount from people with AIDS, cancer, terminal illnesses or who were elderly. They then sold participation shares of the policies' death benefits to investors, promising high returns. The company operated from October 1994 to May 2004, selling $1.25 billion worth of life insurance policies to 30,000 investors. Officials of the company lied about the life expectancy of the policyholders to the investors, bribing a doctor to sign off on their statements. It operated as a ponzi scheme, using new investors money to pay premiums on older life insurance policies, pay a return to earlier investors, and provide lavish salaries and benefits for the company's owners. Mutual Benefits Corp. was shut down by the SEC in 2004. There were 13 people involved with the company who were either convicted or pled guilty. Joel Steinger received a 20-year prison sentence in 2014 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Co-founder and vice president Steve Steiner pled guilty in one case and was convicted in another case and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Attorney Anthony Livoti Jr., the trustee for the investment accounts, was convicted in December 2013 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering, Attorney Michael McNerney pleaded guilty and received five years in prison. Peter Lombardi, the company's president, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Dr. Clark Mitchell was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Another of the Steinger brothers involved in the company, Leslie Steinger, died in 2008 before he could be tried. The ponzi scheme was featured on the CNBCtelevision programAmerican Greed in October 2015 entitled "Friends Without Benefits."
