Ohio § 3916.171

§ 3916.171.

(A) No person shall commit a fraudulent viatical settlement act. (B) All of the following acts are fraudulent viatical settlement acts when committed

by any person who, knowingly and with intent to defraud and for the purpose of depriving

another of property or for pecuniary gain, commits, or permits any of its employees

or its agents to commit them: (1) Presenting, causing to be presented, or preparing with knowledge or belief that it

will be presented to or by a viatical settlement provider, viatical settlement broker,

life expectancy provider, viatical settlement purchaser, financing entity, insurer,

insurance broker, insurance agent, or any other person, any false material information,

or concealing any material information, as part of, in support of, or concerning a

fact material to, one or more of the following: (a) An application for the issuance of a viatical settlement contract or a policy; (b) The underwriting of a viatical settlement contract or a policy; (c) A claim for payment or benefit pursuant to a viatical settlement contract or a policy; (d) Any premiums paid on a policy; (e) Any payments and changes in ownership or beneficiary made in accordance with the

terms of a viatical settlement contract or a policy; (f) The reinstatement or conversion of a policy; (g) The solicitation, offer, effectuation, or sale of a viatical settlement contract

or a policy; (h) The issuance of written evidence of a viatical settlement contract or a policy; (i) A financing transaction; (j) Any application for or the existence of or any payments related to a loan secured

directly or indirectly by any interest in a policy. (2) Failing to disclose to the insurer, where the insurer has requested such disclosure,

that the prospective insured has undergone a life expectancy evaluation by any person

or entity other than the insurer or its authorized representatives in connection with

the application, underwriting, and issuance of the policy. (3) In the furtherance of a fraud or to prevent the detection of a fraud, doing any of

the following: (a) Removing, concealing, altering, destroying, or sequestering from the superintendent

of insurance the assets or records of a licensee or another person engaged in the

business of viatical settlements; (b) Misrepresenting or concealing the financial condition of a licensee, financing entity,

insurer, or any other person; (c) Transacting the business of viatical settlements in violation of any law of this

state requiring a license, certificate of authority, or other legal authority for

the transaction of the business of viatical settlements; (d) Filing with the superintendent of insurance or the chief insurance regulatory official

of another jurisdiction a document containing false information or otherwise concealing

from the superintendent any information about a material fact. (4) Recklessly entering into, negotiating, brokering, or otherwise dealing in a viatical

settlement contract involving a policy that was obtained by presenting false, deceptive,

or misleading information of any fact material to the policy, or by concealing information

concerning any fact material to the policy, for the purpose of misleading and with

the intent to defraud the issuer of the policy, the viatical settlement provider,

or the viator; (5) Committing any embezzlement, theft, misappropriation, or conversion of moneys, funds,

premiums, credits, or other property of a viatical settlement provider, insurer, insured,

viator, policyowner, or any other person engaged in the business of viatical settlements

or insurance; (6) Employing any plan, financial structure, device, scheme, or artifice to defraud in

the business of viatical settlements; (7) Misrepresenting the state of residence or facilitating the change of the state in

which a person owns a policy or the state of residency of a viator to a state or jurisdiction

that does not have laws similar to this chapter for the express purposes of evading

or avoiding the provisions of this chapter; (8) In the solicitation, application, or issuance of a policy, employing any device,

scheme, or artifice in violation of section 3911.09 or 3911.091 of the Revised Code ; (9) Engaging in any conduct related to a viatical settlement contract if the person knows

or should have known that the intent of the transaction was to avoid the disclosure

and notice requirements of section 3916.06 of the Revised Code ; (10) Entering into a premium finance agreement with any person pursuant to which the person

will receive, directly or indirectly, any proceeds, fees, or other considerations

from the policy, the owner of the policy, the issuer of the policy, or from any other

person with respect to the premium finance agreement or any viatical settlement contract,

or from any transaction related to the policy, that are in addition to the amount

required to pay the principal, interest, costs, and expenses related to the policy

premiums pursuant to the premium finance agreement or subsequent sale of the agreement.  Any payments, charges, fees, or other amounts in addition to the amounts required

to pay the principal, interest, costs, and expenses related to policy premiums paid

under the premium finance agreement shall be remitted to the original owner of the

policy or, if the owner is not living at the time of the determination of the overpayment,

to the estate of the owner. (11) With respect to any viatical settlement contract or a policy, for a viatical settlement

broker or an agent registered under this chapter as operating as a viatical settlement

broker to knowingly solicit an offer from, effectuate a viatical settlement with,

or make a sale to any viatical settlement provider, viatical settlement purchaser,

financing entity, or related provider trust that is controlling, controlled by, or

under common control with such viatical settlement broker or registered agent unless

both of the following are true: (a) The viatical settlement broker or agent disclosed that affiliation to the viator. (b) The viatical settlement broker or agent is controlled by or under common control

with a person that is regulated under the “Securities Act of 1933” or the “Securities

Act of 1934,” 15 U.S.C. 77a et seq., as amended. (12) With respect to any viatical settlement contract or a policy, for a viatical settlement

provider to knowingly enter into a viatical settlement contract with a viator if,

in connection with such viatical settlement contract, anything of value will be paid

to a viatical settlement broker or an agent registered under this chapter as operating

as a viatical settlement broker that is controlling, controlled by, or under common

control with such viatical settlement provider or the viatical settlement purchaser,

financing entity, or related provider trust that is involved in such viatical settlement

contract unless both of the following are true: (a) The viatical settlement broker or agent disclosed that affiliation to the viator. (b) The viatical settlement broker or agent is controlled by or under common control

with a person that is regulated under the “Securities Act of 1933” or the “Securities

Act of 1934,” 15 U.S.C. 77a et seq., as amended. (13) Issuing, soliciting, marketing, or otherwise promoting the purchase of a policy for

the purpose of or with emphasis on settling the policy; (14) Issuing or using a pattern of false, misleading, or deceptive life expectancies; (15) Issuing, soliciting, marketing, or otherwise promoting stranger-originated life insurance; (16) Attempting to commit, assisting, aiding or abetting in the commission of, or conspiracy

to commit any act or omission specified in divisions (B)(1) to (15) of this section.