What happened to us..
Early in 2006 close retired relatives of ours invested the bulk of their life-savings in the Trans Continental Airlines Employee Investment Savings Account (EISA). They put their money into this account because it was offering a good interest rate (6.08% at the time), and it was FDIC insured (allegedly). They had everything in writing including: how it was insured, how investors would make withdrawals, non-employee rules, etc. Everything looked professional and official. No red flags were raised as the interest rate wasn't that much higher than banks were paying on Certificates of Deposit at the time. In fact, this was presented as very similar to a C.D. Shortly thereafter, in May of 2006, we opened an account with $23,000.

Churchill Financial Group misled us
We were offered this investment by Churchill Financial Group in Clearwater, FL. Churchill Financial, at the time we enrolled in the Trans Continental EISA (May of 2006), was a licensed Life, Health and Annuities Broker. The name Churchill Financial Group was misleading to us in that it sounded to us like a financial management company. In fact their business card says "Safe Money Advisors". I was under the impression that they could legally sell this type of investment, which it turns out; they never were legally licensed to sell. They did not inform us of this fact. Also, we had thought that if they were selling an "FDIC Insured" product to us, as "financial advisors", they would have confirmed that it was indeed FDIC insured. I am not aware that any criminal charges have been pressed against Bill Kress or Steven Rodd of Churchill Financial Group at the time of this posting (February 18, 2006).

Louis Pearlman misled us
In late December of 2006 we began hearing things that led us to worry about our investment. Later, we learned, to our horror, that this investment run by Louis J. Pearlman was totally fraudulent, according to the State of Florida Dept. of Financial Regulation. We learned that this scam was a Ponzi scheme in which the first investors get paid their interest by the new investors coming into the plan. We found out that this scam had been ongoing since the late 1980's! We also learned that there were almost no investor funds left in the account, that Louis Pearlman had mountains of debt, and not nearly enough assets to cover his debt. Then, even worse, we learned of the negligence of the State of Florida, the FDIC, and the SEC, who were notified that Louis J. Pearlman and the agents selling this account were telling potential investors that this was a perfectly safe investment, fully insured by the FDIC and further insured by Lloyd's of London and AIG. (see news articles from the Orlando Sentinel ) In fact, (according to the Orlando Sentinel) the federal government and the State of Florida were given this information over a decade ago! They knew that something suspicious was happening, but not only did they not investigate it, they did not even warn people to be on the lookout for this type of fraudulent activity. In fact, at the time of this writing, February 11, 2007, after the state receiver has taken over the offices of Louis Pearlman, there is still no warning to consumers that this type of scam can take place. It's not on the FDIC's website. It's not on the Attorney General of the State of Florida's website. I have never heard that anyone was misleading the public in this way. I've never seen an e-mail about it, never heard it on the news, I never saw a warning about this anywhere!

What if…
317 million dollars! 1400 investors! How many of those millions, how many of those victimized investors were taken in the last decade? How many people and how much of their hard-earned money would have been saved had the State of Florida investigated Pearlman's scam when questions were first raised about it in 1995? How many fewer lives would have been ruined had the SEC investigated when asked to in 1999? What about if the FDIC had pursued this matter more fully in 2001? What if the FDIC had only alerted the media that certain companies were making misrepresentations about being FDIC insured and that they were making these statements in writing? This I know for sure. Had this program been shut down even 1 year ago my husband and I would not have lost our $23,000. Had the State and the Federal Governments done their jobs our relatives would not have lost their life savings. $113,000. Gone in the blink of an eye.

Who's to blame?
Is Lou Pearlman the only one to blame, or is the State of Florida and the U.S. Federal Government also responsible? We pay taxes. Isn't it our government's job to protect us against criminals like this? Our relatives have worked and paid taxes for over 40 years. They scrimped and saved to build their small nest-egg. This was supposed to help them get through their "golden years". They were counting on the interest they could earn on their $90,000 to help them get through each year. They thought they would have a $90,000 cushion to help them through whatever health problems and emergencies came up. Their money was stolen from them and from over 1400 people like them.

What can we do about it?
Did you invest in Trans Continental's EISA after 1995? Do you feel that our government is responsible for letting this scam go on year after year? If so, then we urge you to write your governor, your congressman, your state senators, and President Bush. We all need to make our voices heard. It takes only a few minutes to print out a letter, write out an envelope and mail it. Let congress know that they dropped the ball and now they need to help those hurt by their inaction and negligence.

Our proposal
Our proposal is based on a sliding scale based on age in order to give the most help to those who need it the most: Our senior citizens.

• We propose a tax credit for people who have invested their money with Trans Continental after 1995, when the EISA program should have been shut down.
• We propose that the tax credit begins with tax year 2006 because this money is needed immediately.
• We propose that the aid come in the form of a tax credit because claiming it as a loss won't help people who have little income to offset a loss against.

Here is the sliding scale we are proposing to Congress:

1. For taxpayers over 75 years of age*: 10% of lost investment** over the next 10 years.
2. For taxpayers over 65 years of age*: 8% of lost investment** over the next 10 years.
3. For taxpayers over 55 years of age*: 6% of lost investment** over the next 10 years.
4. For taxpayers over 45 years of age*: 4% of lost investment** over the next 10 years.
5. For taxpayers over 35 years of age*: 2% of lost investment** over the next 10 years.

*For tax status "Married Filing Jointly" older taxpayer's age prevails.

• **We propose that the investment amount is principal only.
• We further propose that the credit be reduced by any recovered amounts in the year they are recovered. Any amounts recovered in excess of the annual credit shall be carried forward to reduce the credit in subsequent years.
• I think we all must agree that if the U.S. Government allows us to take these credits we relinquish the right to sue any state agency or federal agency, in reference to this matter. We will limit any legal action to Louis J. Pearlman, his partners, any and all of his and/or his partner's companies, and any agents who sold these fraudulent accounts.
• We also propose that any citizens who have lost money with Trans Continental's EISA be granted a filing extension for 2006 taxes until the Federal Government decides what aid it will give to citizens taken by this scam.

Take Action!
Perhaps you may agree with our proposal, or perhaps, depending on your situation, you don't. Please click HERE to view some sample letters. Choose the letter you like and print it out. Make sure to get letters to your congressman, your state senators, your governor, and President Bush. If you like our proposal, use the letters as written. If not, write your own proposal. The point is that we all must band together and flood our government with mail so they know that we need their help. The state and federal governments let Lou Pearlman walk away with our millions. We want our money back! We also want to make sure this doesn't happen again. When fraud is suspected our governmental agencies must do all they can, as quickly as they can, in order to protect their honest, hardworking citizens from becoming victims of scams like this. This was preventable. The government did nothing to prevent it. Now the government must take responsibility for its negligence and inaction.