William Lowder Named Northwest Michigan's Scam Kingpin
Lowder and wife bankrupt in 2004, but by 2006 this annuity scammer begins giving his teacher wife Kim cash "gifts" that ultimately total nearly two hundred thousand dollars.
And she claims not to know?
Somebody should go back to school (are you listening, TCAPS?).
Official State of Michigan documents tell the sordid tale:
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/lara/Lowder_William_E._-_Summary_Suspension_EB_redacted_380170_7.pdf
Just to refresh your memory--
LANSING – (March 26, 2012) State insurance regulators are looking for anyone who may have done business with a Traverse City insurance agent accused of taking $500,000 out of an elderly woman’s account and using it to buy gifts for his wife and pay his personal expenses.
William E. Lowder befriended an elderly woman in the Traverse City area and made more than a dozen unauthorized financial transactions totaling nearly $500,000 from her annuity and money market accounts, according to the Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR).
“There may be other victims out there,” said OFIR spokesman Jason Moon. Anyone who believes they have been victimized by Lowder should call the agency’s toll-free hotline at 877-999-6442, he said.
“OFIR found that Lowder comingled these funds with his own bank accounts and used the money for cash gifts to his wife, to fund his personal trust account, and to pay his personal and business expenses,” OFIR said in a news release.
The complaint against Lowder began in 2011, when the elderly woman’s son complained about Lowder’s activities as his mother’s financial advisor and insurance agent.
An OFIR investigation revealed that Lowder had been withdrawing money from her accounts between November, 2006 and February, 2008 and spending it or putting it into his personal accounts.
Last week, OFIR suspended Lowder’s insurance license and referred the information it gathered to law enforcement agencies, Moon said.
“OFIR will continue to aggressively fight to protect Michigan seniors from financial abuse,” said Commissioner Kevin Clinton. “Any consumer who had a financial relationship with Lowder should contact us immediately.”
Attempts to reach Lowder for comment were unsuccessful. Telephone listings for his Traverse City office were disconnected.
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