Seven Years of Pension Deals, a $1 Penalty, and a Lifetime Ban

Broker Mark Corbett spent years arranging for veterans to sign over future pension and disability pay — plus mandatory life insurance so investors got paid even if the veteran died. The CFPB’s penalty was $1, set by his sworn inability to pay. The ban is permanent.

The CFPB found Corbett told veterans the contracts he facilitated were valid and enforceable when they were void, because veterans’ pension payments are unassignable under federal law. He misrepresented the product as a purchase of payments rather than a high-interest credit offer, misrepresented when consumers would receive funds, and never disclosed the applicable interest rate.

Veterans were obligated to repay much larger amounts by assigning all or part of their monthly pension or disability payments to investors. They were also required to buy life insurance so the contract would still be paid if the veteran died.

The $1 penalty reflects sworn inability to pay and cooperation, not the scale of the conduct; the order also requires Corbett to help the Bureau identify and locate harmed veterans. A regulatory settlement, not a criminal conviction.

"veterans’ pension payments are unassignable under federal law"
— Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Case file in the VA Fraud case files — part of the VA Fraud record. Cases are published as the courts decided them; amounts are stated as the Justice Department states them (billed, stolen, or ordered in restitution, as labeled).