Mass Mutual, Brian Grodin, Hugo Tomasio, and Michael Book are accused of violating various state laws and professional standards.  They face complaints of “unfair trade practice, fraud, misrepresentation, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of warranty of fit for a particular purpose” in the notice.

The USA Herald reported in July on pending litigation in Florida where a Civil Remedy Filing (CRN) was made against Mass Mutual and New York LIfe.  Referenced in those CRNs were Brian Gordon, Hugo Tomasio, and Michael Book.

The CRN gives specific detailed allegations of the multiple complaints against Mass Mutual and the agents who sold their policies to the Trust.

The dispute is connected to the Trust’s purchase of three life insurance policies. The first policy was purchased on September 8, 2021. On December 31, 2021, two additional policies were added to insure the life of one of the Jeffersons.

Each of these policies was issued in the state of Nevada by the New York Life Insurance Company through Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company aka Mass Mutual.  

Mass Mutual denies responsibility

Mass Mutual has issued a blanket denial of any involvement in the allegations outlined in the CRN complaint. And claim they are not responsible for the actions of any intermediary parties.

In other words, from the point of sale through the underwriting process to the financing Mass Mutual is not responsible for anything that takes place.

The company is denying any affiliation with Grodin and Book. Sources close to the case allege that Grodin and Book were both registered representatives for Mass Mutual and their licenses were listed there at the time of the policy purchases.

In the meantime, Hugo Tomasio is listed as a Principal in Southport Compass, LLC an independent life insurance agency that discloses an affiliation with Mass Mutual on its website. 

It is also alleged that Mass Mutual currently has access to and reviews all email correspondence for Grodin and Book. 

The overall CRN complaint suggests multiple alleged violations and concerns related to the sales process, misrepresentations, negligence, and failure to provide necessary information and documentation.

The insurance company denies it has any liability regarding the sale of the policies, the financing of the policies, and the underwriting process.

Sources allege that any insurance policy would need to go through an underwriting process to be vetted by the named company. This is especially true of the multi-million-dollar Premium Finance Policies obtained by the Trust.

In 2020, D. Michael O’Connor was named head of MassMutual Trust Company FSB (MassMutual Trust), which oversees 3,000 trust accounts and nearly $2.8B in assets under management.

O'Connor is not commenting on this matter. He also refuses to confirm or deny the allegation that the company is being investigated for aggressive underwriting in premium finance policies.