The Ute Indian Tribe has filed a complaint with the Utah Department of Insurance after tribal members were targeted by a fraudulent life insurance scheme. According to the Tribe’s press release, tribal members have been paying on their policies for years, or even decades, only to make claims on the policies and discover they no longer have insurance benefits. While the press release indicates that the complaint is filed against multiple life insurance companies, it only specifically names Midland National Life Insurance. It also states that the complaint has the potential to reveal more about life insurance carriers targeting sales to low socioeconomic individuals in Indian Country and other vulnerable communities. “We will take all necessary steps to hold these insurance companies accountable for their predatory conduct which has defrauded our Tribal members,” said Julius T. Murray, III, Chairman of the Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee. “It is particularly deplorable that these bad actors have targeted and taken money from Tribal elders who relied on these policies to take care of family needs after their deaths.”
