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Raffi Michael Boghosian, Charles Edward Smith Jr, and Anuj Sud were convicted after their involvement with the structured settlement factoring company Access Funding between 2013 and 2015.
Each individual was found guilty of Theft Scheme Over $100,000 and Conspiracy to Commit Theft Scheme Over $100,000 after a trial in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.
The charges are in connection to Access Funding’s acquisition of structured settlement payment rights of 94 people, primarily lead poisoning victims in Baltimore City, according to the announcement.
The payment rights to the individuals had a total present value of over $21million. In exchange for the payment rights, Access Funding gave the owners cash lump sums totaling less than $7 million, and in some cases as little as 8 cents on the dollar of the payments’ discounted present value, the Attorney General states.
“These individuals preyed upon vulnerable victims of lead paint poisoning in Baltimore City,” said Attorney General Frosh. “The victims received a small fraction of the actual value of their structured settlements, depriving them of a much-needed lifeline meant to support them longterm.”
Boghosian was the Chief Operating Officer of Access Funding. Smith was an attorney who purported to provide independent advice to every customer of Access Funding in Maryland for almost a two-year period. Sud was Access Funding’s attorney who filed petitions in court to obtain court orders transferring the victim’s payment rights, according to the Attorney General.
It was determined that Boghosian, Smith, and Sud prevented the 94 payment rights owners from receiving the independent professional advice without which transfers of structured settlement payment rights cannot occur.
Sentencing will be set in Baltimore City Circuit Court. Access Funding’s offices and principal place of business were located in Montgomery County.
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