By Sandy Jolley
In Her Own Words
This story is about my parents, Patricia and Richard Hickerson 
who were sold a reverse mortgage that was not needed or appropriate for their circumstances. It’s a tragic story of deceit, fraud and purposefully targeting vulnerable seniors to deprive them of their property, retirement, dignity and quality of life.
This didn’t just happen to my parents. There are thousands of other families with similar devastating stories. It is happening everyday to someone’s parents, relative or friends.
Mom and Dad were good, caring, and trusting people who worked all their lives to provide for each other and their family. They lived in a modest home they took pride in for 25 years in Thousand Oaks, California. Mom and Dad volunteered together and enjoyed giving back to the community where they lived.
Mom and Dad’s Health
In April of 2002 Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and could no longer balance a checkbook or manage the family finances as she had all her married life. By 2003 Mom was unable to make change for a twenty dollar bill. She required assistance in basic activities of daily living.
Dad had been suffering from 9 major illnesses for more than 10 years, and in 2004 also had metastatic cancer in his head and advanced liver cancer. Dad knew he was dying, but he never told anyone and never complained or said how much he was suffering.
In January 2005 Dad applied for long term health care insurance for Mom and himself. They were denied coverage because of their medical history and the fact that Mom would need long term care for Alzheimer’s.
Timeline
In early 2005 my Dad noticed the TV ads featuring (actors) James Garner and Robert Wagner talking about the benefits of Financial Freedom Reverse Mortgages. Dad responded to a mailer wanting to know what reverse mortgages were.
Les Barnhart, a sales representative for Pacific Reverse Mortgage – Financial Heritage came to my parents’ home in March 2005 and read word for word a miss-leading flip chart presentation full of every possible benefit everyone has heard on the television commercials. Not one of the promised benefits applied to my parent’s circumstances or financial situation.
At the end of the presentation, Barnhart presented a Pacific Reverse Mortgage and Financial Freedom generated loan application, good faith estimate, disclosures and amortization schedule based on property value guesstimated by my dad to be $650,000.
Barnhart had 10 years long term health care sales expertise and an insurance license. He knew my parents were denied long term health care insurance. He would have recognized my mom had Alzheimer’s and Dad told him he had cancer. He should have stopped the revere mortgage process then and there.