Consumer Alert!
Delray Beach, FL – Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has revoked the license of a south Florida agent and permanently banned him from the insurance business in Florida for using his insurance license to exploit elderly Jewish Floridians.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
The Department of Financial Services filed an 18-count administrative complaint against Leighton David Applefeld, 66, owner and operator of Focus Financial Services Inc. in Delray Beach, alleging, among other things, that he preyed on elderly Jewish consumers, through religious affinity, to engender their trust and sell them inappropriate insurance products that paid high commissions.
Applefeld convince clients in Broward and Palm Beach, to surrender or withdraw from their investments to fund new deferred annuity contracts, resulting in thousands of dollars of unnecessary surrender charges and additional penalties that he didn't explain to his elderly clients.
In one cases he convinced an elderly Jewish couple to give him checks totaling $180,000 to invest, payable to his Delray Beach business name, but he never invested the funds on behalf of his clients once the money was deposited into his business account.
In lieu of fighting the administrative charges against him, Applefeld agreed to the revocation of his insurance license, and further agreed to be permanently banned from the insurance business in Florida. [Department of Financial Services]