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Senator Bill Nelson
716 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON
DC 20510 October 5, 2005
Sent via e-mail to: Barton_Vaughan@billnelson.senate.gov
Dear
Senator Nelson:
I am preparing to publish "The MONY Story" and am including information concerning your involvement
in sheltering wrongdoers during your tenure as head of the Florida Department of Insurance. In a sense of fair play I want
to give you an opportunity to correct any of the information prior to publication. I am not and have never been politically
motivated in my efforts to correct the wrongs that were done to more than a million Americans including a large number of
military personnel. Please do not hesitate to contact me ASAP with any and all corrections or explanations that you deem necessary
to tell the full story.
During 1995 you investigated The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, commonly and hereafter
referred to as MONY, and issued an order to show cause for the "Suspension of Certification of Authority" on July 7, 1995
(case no.: 10079-94-C-RAP) detailing more than a billion dollars in illegal transactions on MONY's 1993 financial statements
filed in Florida.
Your investigation of MONY came during the same time period that you were investigating MET Life's
sale of life insurance policies as retirement plans to nurses and other citizens of your state. News reports quoted you as
threatening to fine MET as much as ONE BILLION dollars for their actions in falsely illustrating dividends on those policies.
The policies were the same as the ones MONY was also selling in Florida with the exception that MONY was illustrating double
digit returns on nonexistent assets. You took no action against MONY and settled with MET for $25,000,000. Members of
your staff told me they were shocked by the paltry amount of the fine and could not understand why you settled for such a
small number.
Even more shocking was the $2,000 (TWO THOUSAND Dollars) fine that you levied against MONY for the
massive fraud uncovered in the Florida investigation and blind eye to MONY's GUARANTEED RETIREMENT PLAN featuring the MONYCONOMIZER
policy. That is the same contract that the New York and Connecticut Attorney Generals investigated in 1999 and found to be
fraudulent. That information is available at www.SpitzerAG.com with additional info at www.GonzalesAG.com. It appears that
Mr. Spitzer also pulled up due to the Mario Cuomo / James P. Corcoran connection that was responsible for the initiation of
the fraud in 1983.
The enclosed copies of communications that you ignored and refused to answer were reviewed by members
of your current staff shortly after I featured you on my www.PWCSUCKS.com web site. There was no request for corrections.
I was confused for a long time as to why you refused to answer the Freedom of Information requests and to cover-up the massive
fraud by MONY until I recently discover your long relationship with Mr. Paul Grant Rogers who was a MONY Board Member. I have
now opined that you knowingly violated your oath of office and entered into a criminal conspiracy to cover-up and conceal
the criminal acts of MONY and PricewaterhouseCoopers along with MONY's officers and board members.
Shortly before
your settlement with MET on the above mentioned case I had the opportunity to share the information on MONY with an attorney
from MET Life and was wondering if you could share with me the names of any MET representative that might have mentioned MONY
to you during the settlement talks?
Please do not hesitate to contact me at 817 545 8961 or e-mail RAbshire@aol.com
for additional information or confirmation. If I do not hear from you I will assume that you are in agreement with the above
statements and that you have no corrections.
Respectfully,
R. Dale Abshire
3308 Pin Oak Lane
Bedford,
TX 76021
Subj: Arkansas Dept.of Ins. vs David Hale
Date: 04/25/98
To: cabaff@doi.state.fl.us
CC: walter.ricciardi@us.coopers.com,
mike.pickens@mail.state.ar.us, tmrozek@usdoj.gov
Mr. Bill Nelson
Commissioner of Insurance
State of
Florida
Dear Mr. Nelson:
My offer to provide Mr. Hale's attorney, David O. Bowden, with copies of documents
that I had provided to former Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Lee Douglas seems to have hit a nerve in Arkansas.
As
you are no doubt aware, Mr. Hale has been charged with lying about the financial condition of his insurance company and was
scheduled for trial this week. It is my understanding that the charges relate to the improper valuation of certain assets
and the amount of money involved does not exceed $150,000. The events giving rise to the charges are alleged to have
taken place in the early 90's leading to the charges in mid 1996. Mr. Hale's attorney has claimed that the charges are politically
motivated and designed to discredit Mr. Hale's testimony in the Starr investigation and that the Arkansas Department of Insurance
has treated Mr. Hale differently than others similarly situated with regard to his alleged violations of Arkansas Law.
As
you are aware, I have been in the insurance business for almost 27 years in Texas with the first 19+ with The Mutual Life
Insurance Company of New York, commonly referred to as MONY. After my departure in Jan. 1991 I became aware
of information
about the company and officers that caused me concern for the safety of my pension and "investment grade" life insurance policies.
From court records and documents on file in the various state departments of insurance along with interviews with present
and past employees I became more concerned. During late 1994 I obtained a copy of the 1992 New York Department of Insurance
"Audit". It contained $100s of millions of dollars in illegal transactions. As required by Article 1.10D of the Texas
Insurance Code, I reported the "suspected fraud" to the Texas Department of Insurance. I then learned of the Travis County
Grand Jury investigations and letter to Gov. George W. Bush concerning the corruption in the Texas Department of Insurance.
I was then called to Austin for a meeting with the head of the Fraud Unit who said they were not interested in investigating
insurance executives who only steal $500 per month and they were not interested in investigating a $55,000,000 false
entry on MONY's financial statements. The Texas Department of Insurance also told me to rely on the "unqualified opinion"
letters issued by Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P. I was also informed that submitting falsified expense vouchers for "gambling
money" was OK as long as a contest was involved.
I also made known my concerns for the integrity of the values being
placed on real estate and even verified with the Dallas County Appraisal District that MONY had submitted an appraisal showing
the value of the Turtle Creek property as $2,707,000 which was less than the $18,080,000 that is shown on the annual
filings. The Texas Department of Insurance has been insistent that the 1994 financial statement filed by MONY is correct
and taken absolutely no action to protect the citizens of Texas.
As you are aware, I made a simple Freedom of Information
request for "an accurate, concise and complete financial statement (as required by law )" to a substantial number of the State
Insurance Regulators. I also obtained a number of sworn affidavits and depositions from court records that leave little doubt
as to why the New York Department of Insurance made the decision in the fall of 1992 to hide the "audit" and initiate a cover-up
that included granting "Trade Secret" status to the "Secret Phantom Stock" plan, lying to the public and refusing to answer
F.O.I.L. requests in violation of New York Law.
You are also aware that I have asked a number of elected officials
including four United States Senators, several state governors, my congressman, my state senator and my state representative
for help in obtaining the accurate financial statement and/or help in getting Freedom of Information requests answered. As
required by law, I took the documents to the FBI in Dallas and explained the situation. A few months later I received a letter
saying that the case had been transferred to the New York office. Having already asked one of my Senators for help in getting
the statements (his office reported back that he was "POWERLESS" ). I showed the other senators office the New York audit
along with the "Daniels" affidavit and asked for help moving the FBI along. I also ask for help in getting the accurate financial
statements. After many months they were able to provide me with a copy of the same audit I had shown them. In early 1998
the FBI could not find any records.
On July 17, 1996, I wrote to The Honorable Senator Alphonse D'Amato regarding
the arrest warrant that had been issued for Mr. David Hale for lying to state regulators about the financial condition of
his burial insurance company. The letter
contained 12 exhibits including the New York audit and sworn affidavits by a
CPA and former employee. I sent a copy to the Arkansas Commissioner of insurance, Mr. Lee Douglas at the request of Mr. Ridgeway
in their law department. In a conference call on Friday, April 24, 1998, with Arkansas Commissioner Mike Pickens and other
department officials Mr. Ridgeway finally admitted that he did remember our conversation back in 1996 but they can't seem
to find any of the documents. Mr. Pickens has given me his assurance that he will throughly investigate and protect the public
interest by the equitable enforcement of the State's laws and regulations affecting the insurance industry.
He has
afforded me the opportunity to step forward with the evidence for him to investigate. This brings us to the Freedom of Information
request that I made to you on March 17, 1998, which covers the early 90's and in particular the 1994 financial statement that
the Florida Department of Insurance audited and found violations of Florida Law in the $1,500,000,000 range per the Consent
Order (CASE NO; 10079-94-C-DMM) filed with the 1996 statement in Florida. I believe that the information I requested is of
grave importance to achieving fair and equitable enforcement of the law in Arkansas.
In the conference call on Friday,
Mr. Pickens was quick to point out that the Arkansas Department of Insurance didn't rely on "unqualified opinions" of outside
accountants but relied on their in-house people for the accuracy of financial statements. As you are now aware, Coopers &
Lybrand L.L.P. (currently on two years probation / per U.S. Attorney's Office) acted as the vendor on the sale of a financial
instrument to MONY in 1994 while acting as "Independent" auditor for MONY. The New York audit with $600,000,000 in illegal
transactions coupled with the $1,500,000,000 you found in 1994 which resulted in a total of $44,000 in fines being
paid by the company while no one was charged with a crime. The $44,000 is less than half of the cost of the Officers
Stereo and Home Theater project described in the Alexis Daniels affidavit that I sent Mr. Douglas. It's about half the cost
of the illegal yacht cruise shown in the New York audit that occurred in your state.
In trying to compare the equitable
enforcement of the law in Arkansas to Mr. Hale, it appears that the alleged amount of $150,000 is about 20% of the
$687,000 payment to a law firm (that as I recall had defended the Rose Law Firm) that is not disclosed on the Schedule
"J" as required. The same firm claimed to have had a conference call at $204 an hour with a man they named as a witness
in the Wassell vs MONY case. Seeing how the man had been dead for several years when he was named, it surely will mandate
an accounting of all those millions of dollars in billings. The $150,000 is about 1% of the $15M overstatement
of the value of the Turtle Creek property mentioned above.
While Mr. Pickens may have the greatest intentions for
the future of the Arkansas Department of Insurance and may in fact follow through with everything he said he would, the simple
fact is his predecessor and the Arkansas Department of Ins. knew of MONY's falsified financial statements and took absolutely
no action to protect the citizens of their own state. I'm sure when Mr. Pickens gets the documents from the Texas Department
of Insurance he will pay close attention to
the actual dividend histories and the 10's of millions of dollars that the
children in Arkansas will never see from dividends that were illustrated based on income from assets that did not exist.
I
do want to give Mr. Pickens an opportunity to distinguish himself among his peers by meeting his and the Arkansas Department
of Insurance goals established in their Mission Statement. Your prompt attention to my Freedom of Information request will
allow me to properly submit to Mr. Pickens the evidence he has said he will act on.
I thank you in advance for your
assistance.
R. Dale Abshire
4316 Pembrooke Pkwy N.
Colleyville, Texas 76034 817 267-2020
Fax 817 267-5055
Subj: MONY
Date: 03/17/98 modified 6/30/98
To: cabaff@doi.state.fl.us
Mr. Bill
Nelson PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
Insurance Commissioner
State of Florida
Dear Mr. Nelson,
The documents you
sent pursuant to my Freedom of Information request included a Consent Order ( Case No: 10079-94-C-DMM ) dated Feb 16, 1996
that indicates the Florida Department of Insurance conducted an investigation of MONY's 1994 financial statements. Under Freedom
of Information / Public Records request, I request a copy of the investigation and any details regarding the loans to officers
and directors as mentioned in 4.c. of the Consent Order.
Schedule A - Part 1( page 33.15 item 271 ) of the 1996 filing
continues to show the last year of Appraisal as 1986 for this property. According to the Dallas Appraisal District, MONY provided
them with an appraisal stating the property was only worth $2,707,000 during 1994. Can you tell me why this property continues
to be carried on the books at $18,080,000 which is well over $100 per sq. ft.
The documents that you sent
make no mention of the "Home Theater" and "stereo systems" for the three company officers that are mentioned in the "Alexis
Daniels" affidavit that I sent with my request. As I understand it, policyholders are now having to pay to defend a whistleblower
law suit by MS. Daniels against the company. I have reviewed the 1994 Schedule G ( page 7.7 ) filed in New York and discovered
a payment of $69,898 to Mr. Steve Peloquin who Ms. Daniels has named in her affidavit. Mr. Peloquin was an employee of
Contemporary Personnel Service and according to Ms. Daniels he received his paychecks from Contemporary Personnel / not MONY.
It is believed that the $69,898 was a consulting fee used to pay for the components for Mr. Foti's "Home Theater". I would
like to know about this issue and assume that the Florida Department of Insurance "jumped on" the Alexis Daniels affidavit
and should have documentation regarding this matter. Please send the entire file under Freedom of Information / Public Records
Request.
As you are aware, the 1992 Audit of MONY revealed $600,000,000 in illegal transactions that resulted in
outragous bonus's to top officers of the company under the secret "Phantom Stock Plan". The "Audit" which was suppressed until
June 7, 1994 by the New York Department made no mention of the "Phantom Stock Plan" or the $4,500,000 scam in the Los
Angeles agency during 1991. The New York Department of Insurance lied about any knowledge of the "Phantom Stock Plan" and
then granted "Trade Secret" status to the plan to hide what they had done.
There was no mention of the millions of
dollars in compensation not shown on the Schedule G as required by New York Law. Amazingly, there was no mention of the "unqualified
opinions" that Coopers and Lybrand LLP had issued before and after the "bad audit" was resolved in 1994. I would assume that
the Florida Department of Insurance audit during 1995 was the result of the prior audit showing its ugly head in the courts.
Your auditors and investigators should have found the Anthony Crane Rental L.P. transaction on page 62.1 of the 1994 Schedule
D - Part 3. The transaction of $8,500,000 on 9/29/94 lists Coopers and Lybrand as the vendor on this sale. This transaction
constitutes a "Conflict of Interest" and a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Your auditors will have found this
and have made notes as well as reporting it. Under Freedom of Information / Public Records Request, I request that you send
me copies of all documents relating to this matter.
MONY's 1996 financial statement lists $319,000,000 in series
A notes from AUSA Life. In reviewing AUSA Life's financial statements for 1996, I noticed that AUSA had apparently written
down the value of the assets that had been transfered by $151,000,000 per MONY's indemnification agreement that is tied
to the series A notes.. It also appears the the $319,000,000 is not available for paying claims until 2002. Will you verify
the true value of the Series A notes and let me know?
Your prompt consideration of this request will be greatly appreciated.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at 817 267 2020, fax 817 267 5055 or e-mail RAbshire@aol.com.
Respectfully,
R. Dale Abshire
4316 Pembrooke Pkwy N.
Colleyville, Texas 76034
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