Raymond Ankner -Expected to be the biggest life insurance failure in Illinois : IRS Attacks CJA & CJA and Associates’ plans

Raymond Ankner -Expected to be the biggest life insurance failure in Illinois : IRS Attacks CJA & CJA and Associates’ plans: To Read More: http://taxshelteraudits.org/2011/10/14/irs-attacks-cja--cja-and-associates-plans.aspx

Liquidation Comes For Lavish Insurer

January |By Laurie Cohen

      In 1990 Chicago insurance executive Raymond Ankner flew about 100 of his top agents to Germany to celebrate Oktoberfest in Cologne. The cost of the trip was $800,000, billed to Ankner`s businesses.

But insurance regulators were already beginning to question expenses at his main insurance unit, InterAmerican Insurance Co. of Illinois. When the Illinois Insurance Department obtained a court order last month to liquidate the company, court papers showed a balance sheet crowded with overvalued real estate and questionable intercompany transactions and reinsurance arrangements.
The collapse of InterAmerican is expected to be the biggest life insurance failure in Illinois history, with a gap of more than $30 million between assets and liabilities. It has placed in the hands of state regulators the largest real estate and mortgage

Portfolio.         

ever managed by the department. InterAmerican`s $33 million portfolio of mortgages and real estate covers several investments on Chicago`s Near West Side, including a loan on its headquarters at 901 W. Jackson Blvd. There also are more far-flung holdings, such as loans to donut shops in Michigan and a bed-and-breakfast in Vermont. Nearly half the $20.5 million in mortgage loans are behind on payments, according to department officials.
Regulators are still investigating the possibility that company funds were improperly used. No charges have been filed, and Ankner denies any suggestion of wrongdoing.
A report by an independent accountant hired by the Insurance Department highlights several questionable charges, such as a $53,681 check to Neiman-Marcus Co. for catering a 1989 Christmas party at Ankner`s apartment here, the company`s payment of most of his $5,200 monthly rent and even a portion of the salaries of Ankner`s gardener and housekeeper in Vermont.

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