Lawyer pleads guilty to defrauding veterans, retirees out of millions
By Jon Simkins
Apr 20, 07:27 PM
A South Carolina woman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy for using her position as a managing partner at a law firm to exploit military veterans and elderly investors as part of a nationwide cash flow scheme, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
From approximately 2012 to 2021, Candy Kern, 55, used her law firm to prey on retiree investors and “military veterans in desperate financial straits” by illegally assigning veterans’ benefits, a DoJ release stated.
As part of the scheme, Kern directed financially struggling veterans to accept lump sum cash payments in exchange for the veterans’ monthly retirement or disability earnings, which Kern would arrange in contracts — replete with credit background checks, interest rates and legal ramifications — to be paid out, with interest, over an agreed-upon term.
Kern and other partners would then solicit elderly investors seeking to bolster their retirement to invest in the contracts by providing the lump sum payments, which they were told would yield a return over time.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/04/20/lawyer-pleads-guilty-to-defrauding-veterans-retirees-out-of-millions/
