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FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019
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SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NASSAU
-X
Index No.: 617853/2019
. VELUDI CAPITAL STRATEGIES,LLC,
AFFIDAVIT IN OPPOSITION
Plaintiff, TO THE MOTION OF
VELUDI CAPITAL
■against- STRATEGIES.LLC
MANUELPEREIRA;
Defendant.
•X
STATE OF NEW YORK )
SS.:
COUNTY OF NASSAU )
Manuel Pereira, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
1. I am named as the Defendant in this matter and I am fully familiar with the facts
and circumstances set forth herein. I submit this affidavit in opposition to the motion of Veludi
Capital Strategies, LLC (“Veludi” or “Plaintiff”) for summary judgment in lieu of complaint
made pursuant to CPLR § 3213 (the “Motion”).
2. As demonstrated here and in the accompanying Affirmation of my counsel,
Loretta Gastwirth, Esq. (the “Gastwirth Affirmation”) and the Affidavit of Suresh Ramcharitar
(the “Ramcharitar Affidavit”), Plaintiffs motion must be denied in all respects for a number of
reasons, including: (i) that the purported promissory note (the “Note”) Plaintiff sues upon was
made in violation of New York Insurance Law § 4224(c) and is unenforceable as a matter of law
and public policy; (ii)Plaintiff and its principals Chander K. Goel (“Goel”) and Sunil Kumar
Ponnumala (“Kumar”), assured me both verbally and in writing that the Note would not be
enforced against me; (iii) the Note was inextricably intertwined with an insurance premium
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financing scheme that Plaintiff, Goel and Kumar perpetrated against me and written and oral
promises by them that it would not be enforced by Plaintiff or its principals, Goel and Kumar;
and (iv) the Note was fraudulently induced by false promises and misrepresentations made by
Plaintiff and its principals, Goel and Kumar, rendering it unenforceable. Plaintiffs portrayal of
the Note as being a negotiable instrument is a falsehood it perpetrates on this Court as Plaintiff
well knows it was part and parcel of an illegal insurance scheme engaged in by Plaintiff and its
principals. Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment must be denied.
3. Much of what I set forth below is based upon my recollection of the facts of my
dealings with Goel and Kumar, and their alter ego entity, Veludi. At the time of my dealings
with them, I had no idea that what they were doing was entirely unlawful and that I was being
used as a pawn in their fraudulent scheme so that they could receive hundreds of thousands of
dollars in commissions selling me multi-million dollar premium financed life insurance policies.
Through their fraudulent conduct they kept me on a hamster wheel which nearly caused me
financial ruin. It was not until Veludi, Goel and Kumar allowed their fraudulent scheme to
collapse that I learned in 2019, that Goel, Kumar and their company, Veludi, had used me and
induced me to engage in what Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company (“Mass Mutual”), the
issuer of the policies and for whom Goel and Kumar acted as insurance agents, admitted to me
was an insurance ■rebating” scheme unlawful under New York Insurance Law. Goel and Kumar
concealed their unlawful conduct from Mass Mutual and authorities by funneling money through
their alter ego entity. Plaintiff Veludi.
4. Goel, Kumar and Veludi fraudulently and unlawfully induced me to become
entrapped in their premium finance life insurance scheme by promising, among other things, to
pay certain premium financing costs and to advance moneys from cash values of these multi-
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million dollar policies (which is the subject of the Note). New York State Insurance Law §
4224(c) prohibits insurance agents from offering such incentives to induce customers to purchase
or maintain insurance policies. As Mass Mutual explained to me in 2019 when the unlawful
scheme came to its attention, the reason that Veludi, Goel and Kumar engaged in this unlawful
rebating conduct was so that they could be paid extraordinary upfront commissions (several
hundred thousand dollars) on the sale of the policies to me.
5. In December 2019, Mass Mutual, having learned through me of Goel, Kumar and
Veludi’s unlawful scheme, fired Goel (unbeknownst to me, it had already fired Kumar, as I was
told, for forging a customer’s signature) and Mass Mutual resolved the seven figure indebtedness
Goel, Kumar and Veludi caused me to incur on the premium financed policies they sold me.
6. This Court should deny summary judgment to Veludi as it again seeks to
capitalize on the unlawful acts it and its principals, Goel and Kumar,engaged in.
Background Information
7. I was introduced to Goel and Kumar in or about October 2016 through a friend.
Suresh (Chandler) Ramcharitar. Goel and Kumar were, among other things, life insurance
agents for Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company (“Mass Mutual”) and I met them at their Long
Island Mass Mutual office. At the time I first met Goel and Kumar, I was 52 years old and had a
$2.5 million life insurance policy in place.
8. Goel and Kumar proposed a way that I could, in their words, 'monetize”.
substantial commercial properties that my family owned in Queens, New York by purchasing
large dollar insurance policies using premium financing to pay for the policies. Goel and Kumar
explained that I could buy multi-million-dollar whole life insurance policies by financing the
large dollar premiums; that these policies would provide substantial cash values which I could
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draw upon; and that the whole life insurance policies are often sold on the market and could
provide additional earnings. Most importantly, they told me that I could use the Queens
properties as collateral for the premium finance agreement and because of the cash values
available to me when the policies were in place, the Queens properties would in essence produce
substantial income or be “monetized”. Although I did not know it at the time, these
representations were false.
9. I was reluctant to give up my insurance policy - and given my age, I knew that I
might not be able to replace it. I have a wife and two children who depend on me for my income
and if something were to happen to me, my insurance policy would provide for their financial
welfare. In order to induce me to give up my policy and buy whole life insurance policies issued
by Mass Mutual, Goel and Kumar acting as agents for Mass Mutual, gave me a chart (annexed
hereto as Exhibit A)showing me how a $25 million policy could be obtained through premium
financing and that the cash values of the policy, which I could access, would provide a
substantial return. To fiirther induce me to buy the life insurance policies using premium
financing, Goel and Kumar told me that they would arrange for premium financing of
approximately of$1 million and that they would pay all amounts due for the policies. Unknown
to me, Goel and Kumar knew that the representations they made to me were false at the time
they made them, and importantly, unlawful under New York Insurance Law. I relied on their
representations and purchased the policies and entered into premium financing agreements to my
detriment.
10. I subsequently learned when Goel and Kumar’s unlawful scheme unraveled that
the reason Goel and Kumar were willing to make these payments was because they would earn
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several hundred thousand dollars in eommissions on the day I obtained the polieies and that they
would earn substantial additional commissions each year the policy remained in force.
The Premium Finance Scheme
11. Goel and Kumar pursued me and I bought nearly $25 million in life insurance
from them and gave up my old policy. Records show that on or about December 6, 2016, Goel
and Kumar obtained a 20 payment Mass Mutual whole life insurance policy for me (number
22393975) with a death benefit of approximately $7,125,127.00 and with an armual premium of
$272,393.61. I understand that Barrington Bank and Trust Company (also known as Wintrust)
acted as the premium finance company at a point in time.
12. Records also show that on December 21, 2016, Goel and Kumar obtained a
second Mass Mutual 10 payment whole life insurance policy for me (policy number 22404822)
with a death benefit of $16,647,245.00 and with an annual premium of $1,000,000.00. The
premiums for this policy were financed by Barrington Bank and Trust Company.
13. As things turned out, Goel and Kumar caused the $16 million policy to be
surrendered for non-payment just a year later on December 21, 2017 and its available cash value
and accrued loan balance was transferred over to the $7 million policy (number 22393975)
which was subject to a premium finance agreement.
14. While I did not know it at the time, I have come to learn that Goel and Kumar
likely received, I am advised, as much as over 50% of the first year premiums - or over
$600,000 from the sale of not just one, but two policies they sold me. What I did know then is
what Kumar told me - that the sale of these policies was a big deal for Kumar and Goel and as a
result Mass Mutual paid for really expensive Manhattan office space for them.
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15. The whole premise of engaging in this premium financing proposal with Kumar
and Goel, as they told me, was to “monetize” my family’s Queens commercial property through
the cash values earned by the policies. The properties were to stand as collateral for the premium
finance agreement. Goel and Kumar sold me on this idea, but they placed great pressure on me
to buy the policies in December 2017 when they had not yet obtained approval to use the Queens
properties as collateral. They convinced me to temporarily place my brokerage account worth
over $1 million as collateral for the prernium financing loan and stated that they would soon
substitute my brokerage account. Goel and Kumar never did substitute the commercial
properties for my brokerage account as collateral for the premium financing loan. I thought all
was well even with this setback because I was assured by Goel and Kumar that I could use the
cash values accruing on the policies even if I could not access the funds in my brokerage
account. This too was a knowingly false representation as I later learned.
16. I met with Goel and Kumar again shortly after the policies were in place at their
new offices in Manhattan. Their new offices prominently displayed the sign of Veludi Capital
Strategies, LLC. Throughout the next two plus years, Goel and Kumar held themselves out as
being Veludi and the transactions and payments at issue in this case all came through Veludi. (I
later learned that the reason the transactions were funneled through Goel and Kumar’s company
Veludi was because they needed to avoid detection of them as they were unlawful “rebates”
which, as insurance agents, they could not engage in.) Documents, emails they sent to me and a
webpage indicating that Kumar was the Executive Partner of Veludi and that Goel was its
Managing Partner. Samples of some of those documents are annexed hereto as Exhibit B.
According to the New York Secretary of State, Goel is the registered agent for Veludi. A copy
ofthat webpage is annexed hereto as Exhibit C.
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17. Initially, Goel and Kumar, as promised, paid the amounts due under the policies
and the premium finance agreement. On February 17, 2017, Kumar sent me an email
reconfirming in writing that he and Goel would take care of“the interest payments for the first 3
years from out of our pocket; from year 4-10 we will built the interest part from the premium
financing so this way you don’t have to layout from your pocket.” A copy of this email is
annexed hereto as Exhibit D. On August 15, 2017, a payment was due on the policies.
According to my bank records (copies of which are annexed hereto as Exhibit E) “Veludi
Capital” Strategies, the Plaintiff herein, wired $102,851.62 into my bank account. On that same
day. Mass Mutual electronically withdrew that amount from my bank account.
18. On March 13, 2017, Kumar deposited $18,600.00 into my bank account with a
notation of“Loan Interest” referring to the premium finance loan. A copy of this bank record is
annexed hereto as Exhibit F.
19. On June 25, 2018, Plaintiff Veludi Capital Strategies gave me a check drawn on
their account for $34,691.03 as payment toward premium finance charges due under policy no.
22393975. As instructed by Goel, on July 2, 2018,1 then vwote a check payable to Wintrust Life
for premium finance charges in that same amount and indicating the same policy no. 22393975.
Copies of both checks are annexed hereto as Exhibit G.
20. In retrospect, these deposits by Veludi into my ovm bank account further
concealed the unlawful “rebating” in which Goel and Kumar engaged.
Events In Spring 2017 And In 2018
21. Veludi, Kumar and Goel failed in their efforts to substitute my family’s
commercial property as collateral for the premium finance loan. Consequently, my stock
brokerage account which had over $1 million continued to stand as collateral for the premium
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financing of the policy. I needed to access the funds in my brokerage account, but I was told that
I could not withdraw any funds because the account stood as collateral for the premium
financing loan. I was also told by Goel and Kumar that I could not access the substantial cash
values that had accrued in the policies despite their representations to me before I bought the
policies.
22. I started to have doubts that Goel and Kumar would live up to the promises they
made to me which induced me to buy the life insurance policies from them and engage in
premium financing. In order to keep me from terminating the policies (and, as I only recently
learned, to prevent Goel and Kumar from losing any substantial future annual commissions on
the policies’ renewal dates), Goel and Kumar agreed to advance me money, $700,000, against
the cash values that I could not access on my policies (and because I could not access the
substantial sums in my brokerage account which were tied up as collateral for the premium
finance agreement). Goel and Kumar agreed that they would advance the money against the
policy cash values through their company, Veludi Capital Strategies.(As I later learned in 2019,
these advances were also a form of “rebating” - providing money to your client in connection
with insurance policies - unlawful under New York Insurance statutes. And of course, to hide
their unlawful conduct from compliance detection, Goel and Kumar engaged in these advances
through their company. Plaintiff Veludi.) Goel and Kumar assured me I personally would not
have to repay the $700,000 - it was an advance against the substantial cash values that would
accrue in the policies.
23. Kumar and Goel and their company, Veludi Capital Strategies, now claim in this
lawsuit that the advance made against my policy cash values, is an outright loan to me of
$700,000. That is entirely false. The alleged promissory note which Plaintiff attaches to the
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Complaint (the “Note”) was not meant to be anything other than an advance ~ a book entry — to
be offset by accruing cash values.
24. More importantly, Goel, Kumar and Veludi never intended to enforce the Note
against me. This is made obvious by a number of facts.
25. First, as the copy of the Note attached to Plaintiffs complaint indicates, Veludi
never signed the Note. And frankly, I do not recall signing that Note either. Throughout my
dealings with Kumar and Goel, they would, without my knowledge, sign my name to documents.
not the least of which were medical condition forms necessary to maintain the policies. I have
been advised by a Mass Mutual representative that Kumar was actually terminated as a life
insurance agent for forging customer signatures. It is therefore questionable whether the Note is
actually enforceable against me.
26. Second, although Plaintiff claims the Note according to its terms was payable in
or about in October 2017, it never once sought to obtain payment of the Note - at least not until
more than two years later — and after I sought help from Mass Mutual.
27. Third, as set forth in the accompanying Ramcharitar Affidavit, Suresh (Chandler)
Ramcharitar, who had introduced me to Goel and Kumar, attests to the fact that Goel and Kumar
assured me several times in Chandler’s presence that I personally need not repay the $700,000,
with Chandler hearing Goel say to me “have I ever asked you for the money? You don’t have to
pay it back. Ramcharitar Affidavit at par. 7.
28. Fourth, as demonstrated below, Goel and Kumar expressly agreed in writing to
forego payment from me. Part of the reason Plaintiff agreed not to seek payment from me is that
there were and would be substantial cash values supporting the policies and my policies
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generated huge commissions for Goel and Kumar and would continue to generate them if the
policies were maintained.
29. In or about late 2017, premiums and/or financing amounts were due to Mass
Mutual, but despite their assurances to me, Goel and Kumar failed to pay those amounts. In early
2018,1 learned that my main policy for nearly $17 million was now cancelled for non-payment.
At a meeting in or about March 2018 which I attended with Chandler, I expressed my deep
frustration that Goel and Kumar had not maintained the policies as promised, that I still could not
access my brokerage account and I was denied access to the accrued cash values of the
remaining policy. I wanted to terminate my involvement with them. Goel and Kumar tried to
convince me to stay with them and maintain the $7,000,000 whole life policy. They represented
that they would transfer the available cash value from the nearly $16,000,000 policy to the
$7,000,000 policy and that they would put their promises in writing that they would pay for the
policies which in essence were interest payments. Goel, Kumar and their associate Robert
Dunbar, did so, signing a “Promissory Note & Personal Guarenty” [sic] dated as of April 12,
2018 (the “Guaranty”), a copy of which is annexed hereto as Exhibit H.
30. In this Guaranty, Goel, Kumar and Dunbar guaranteed that
CONSIDERATION OF MR. PEREIRA BEING SOLICITED TO ENTER INTO A ‘PREMIUM
FINANCING TRANSACTION’ REQUIRING THE INVESTMENT ON BEHALF OF MR.
PEREIRA OF ONE MILLION dollars ($1,000,000.00) plus other valuable consideration, the
receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, MR. GOEL, MR. KUMAR AND MR.
DUNBAR personally guarantees the prompt, full and complete performance of any and all
present and future duties, obligations and indebtedness (the “Debt”) due to the contract held
under policies no. 22528804/22393975....” Exhibit H at 1. The Guaranty further provides that
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Goel, Kumar and Dunbar guarantees that they will “promptly pay the full amount of interest of
the Debt as and when the same will, in any manner, be or become due....” Exhibit H at 1-2. The
Guaranty further explicitly provided the payment by Goel, Kumar and Dunbar of the amounts
due under the premium financing loan as follows:
MR. CHANDER K. GOEL, MR. SUNIL KUMAR AND MR. ROBERT
DUNBAR HAVE AGREED TO PAY THE INTEREST FOR THE SIXTY
MONTH PERIOD ON THE TWO (2) WHOLE INSURANCE POLICIES
LISTED ABOVE AND IS EFFECTIVE AS OF 2016 TO POLICIES
MATHURITY [SIC] 2021 AND HAVE ALSO COMMITTED TO THE
TERMS AS STATED IN ADDENDUM “A”(ATTACHED).
Exhibit H at 3.
31. Addendum A to the Guaranty sets forth for five (5) years the amount of the
increasing death benefit and the amount of the “CV” - cash value - which started at $218,808 in
year 1 and in five years rose to over $2.5 million. Exhibit H, Addendum.
32. The Guaranty was made as an inducement for me not to terminate the policy and
to reassure me that Goel and Kumar would make the payments as promised. If I terminated the
policy, their future commissions on the policies would not be paid and the $700,000.00 advance
made in 2017 (the Note upon which Plaintiff sued in this case) would not be repaid because the
substantial cash values that were anticipated as expressly set forth in the Addendum to the
Guaranty would disappear with the lapse of the policy. Thus, not only did Kumar and Goel
agree to pay all charges associated with the policy, they agreed not to seek payment of the
$700,000 which is the subject to this lawsuit. As the Ramcharitar Affidavit states, Goel stated to
me:“why are you so upset Manny, you don’t have to pay back the $700,000 that was advanced.”
At another meeting, he reiterated the point, stating, “have I ever asked you for the money? You
don’t have to pay it back.
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33. In that respect, the Guaranty contains a most important provision which
inextricably ties the Note at issue in this action and the promises of Goel and Kumar by and
through their entity, Plaintiff Veludi Capital Strategies, including that I would not have to
personally repay the $700,000 advance against the policy cash values, stating as follows:
If MR. PEREIRA violates and proceeds to go to compliance of MR. GOEL,
MR. KUMAR AND MR. DUNBAR then this agreement will become null
and void at that time. At that time, we will then proceed in recouping the
funds of the promissory note that was arranged through a third party which
was signed by MR. PEREIRA on June 1, 2017 in the amoimt of $700,000
plus any interest and expenses that may be incurred.
Exhibit H at 3. I had no idea at the time what going to “compliance” meant or that there was
anything wrong in what Goel, Kumar and Veludi were doing. And while Goel, Kumar and
Dunbar signed the agreement, I do not have a copy of the agreement signed by me and I do not
recall signing it.
34. Goel and Kumar lived up to their promises for at least a short time after they
executed the Guaranty. On June 25, 2018, they sent a check made payable to me in the sum of
$34,691.03 indicating that it was to be payment with respect to policy no. 22393975. The check
was from Goel and Kumar’s entity, Veludi Capital Strategies, LLC,the Plaintiff in this action. I
deposited the check and as they directed, made my own check payable to Wintrust Life, the
premium financing company, in the amount of$34,691.03. Exhibit G.
The Unlawful Conduct Is Exposed
35. I tried a number of times after the April 2018 Guaranty was executed to draw
down on the cash values that were accruing on my policy but was told each time by Mass Mutual
that I could not and that I should speak with Mass Mutual agents, Goel and Kumar. I was
confused as I understood the cash value was the reason that Goel and Kumar suggested that I
enter into these arrangements - so that I could gain income. This was not the case.
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36. At the end of December 2018, I started receiving notices that Goel and Kumar
had not made the promised payments to the premium finance company and that my life
insurance policy no. 22393975 for $7,000,000 was about to be cancelled. Annexed hereto as
Exhibit I is a copy of the December 6, 2018 letter fi-om Barrington Bank and Trust Company
(Wintrust Community Bank). While Goel and Kumar said they would make the required
payments, they did not.
37. Not only had the policy lapsed, my brokerage account was now in danger of being
foreclosed on and I would lose everything. I spoke to Goel in January 2019 and he told me he
would not do anything to help me, that he was in trouble personally and he told me to “go legal.
We stopped talking after January 2019.
38. Thereafter, I reached out to Mass Mutual’s customer service department to see
what could be done and was put in touch with John Milbier, an investigative consultant working
for Mass Mutual. A friend of mine advised me that he believed that what Goel, Kumar and
Veludi had done was an illegal insurance scheme called “rebating.'
39. In May 2019, Mr. Milbier confirmed that what Goel and Kumar did through their
company. Plaintiff Veludi Capital Strategies, was unlawful and that it was indeed “rebating.”
He confirmed that the law prohibited Kumar and Goel from promising a thing of value to a
customer to induce them to engage in a transaction involving life insurance policies, which
would include paying premiums and finance charges on my behalf. I understand that Kumar,
Goel and Veludi’s $700,000 advance of cash values which is the subject of the Note, is also a
form of unlawful “rebating.” Goel and Kumar committed unlawful “rebating” in order to keep
me tied to the policies so that they could earn substantial commissions. As set forth in my
counsel’s Gastwirth Affirmation, New York Insurance Law provides that such a rebating scheme
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is not only unlawful, it is a criminal act. In retrospect, I now understand why the Guaranty stated
that I could not go to “compliance”- Goel and Kumar, by and through Veludi Capital Strategies,
wanted to prevent their unlawful scheme from being discovered, especially by Mass Mutual.
40. When learning the facts as I have described in this Affidavit, Mass Mutual agreed
that it would pay off the balance of the loan and interest due to the premium finance company in
a confidential sum less the accrued and substantial cash value of the policy, provided I
surrendered the policy. A copy of a letter from Mass Mutual to that effect dated November 22,
2019 and my agreement with Mass Mutual is annexed hereto as Exhibit J. I have filed these
documents in redacted form until Mass Mutual releases me from confidentiality provisions
contained therein or the Court directs me to produce it. I await Mass Mutual’s response to my
request to be allowed to produce the document; alternatively, the Court may order me to produce
the document which would fulfill my obligations under the confidentiality provision.
41. Mass Mutual also took action against Goel and Kumar as Mass Mutual agents.
As it turns out, and according to the New York State Department of Finance’s website, Kumar
had already been terminated from Mass Mutual on December 6, 2018. A copy of this
information from New York State Department of Finance website is annexed hereto as Exhibit
K. (I was told this was because he had forged a customer’s signature.)
42. Goel was terminated from Mass Mutual in mid-October 2019 according to the
New York State Department of Financial Services website, a copy of a page of which is annexed
hereto as Exhibit L. In addition, Goel’s registration with FINRA (the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority) now posts the scheme he perpetrated against me as a negative disclosure
made by Mass Mutual. A copy of a Broker Check Report for Goel made available by FINRA
(Exhibit M) indicates that he was discharged from Mass Mutual on October 11, 2019 “in
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connection with inappropriate traditional insurance sales practices.' Exhibit M at 11. Not
surprisingly, Goel had previously been discharged from New York Life Securities LLC in 2016
for similar misconduct. Exhibit M at 11. According to the Broker Check Report: “Mr. Goel
admitted to directing an agent under his supervision to obtain cashier checks from the agent’s
own personal bank account to pay the premiums for two life insurance policies on behalf of
customers with no familial relationship. Exhibit M at 11. In other words, the very same
fraudulent scheme Goel perpetrated against me, he had perpetrated against another person. He
settled those matters. In that regard, Mr. Goel’s termination from Mass Mutual was also reported
about in an article about him on December 20, 2019. A copy of that article is annexed hereto as
Exhibit N.
The Court Should Not Enforce The Note And Should Deny Summary Judgment
43. The Court should not enforce the Note and it should deny summary judgment to
Plaintiff.
44. As set forth in the Gastwirth Affirmation, the Note was part and parcel of an
illegal transaction under New York Insurance Law - “rebating”. Goel and Kumar tried to hide
their unlawful conduct from detection by regulatory authorities and Mass Mutual by using their
wholly owned company. Plaintiff Veludi Capital Strategies, as a conduit through which it would
funnel money to unlawfully pay monies due the premium finance company and Mass Mutual on
my policies.
45. The Note was part and parcel of this unlawful scheme. Not only did Kumar and
Goel unlawfully pay monies to the premium finance company, they induced me to remain in
their unlawful scheme by promising to advance monies against the cash value building in the
policies - another form of rebating. Goel and Kumar put their unlawful conduct in writing in the
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Guaranty whereby they also promised not to seek payment on the Note provided I would not tell
compliance about their activities.
46. The Ramcharitar Affidavit confirms that Goel stated in no uncertain terms that I
would not have to pay back any of the $700,000 which is the subject of the Note.
47. I was fraudulently induced to enter into the premium financing transactions with
Goel and Kumar by false representations, among other things, that I could withdraw cash values
and that Goel and Kumar would pay the policy charges. I am a victim of the fraudulent and
unlawful conduct of Goel and Kumar which they perpetrated through their alter ego entity.
Veludi Capital Strategies, and I have sustained substantial damages as a result.
48. It is with the greatest audacity that Kumar and Goel now seek to have this Court
enforce a Note borne of illegal conduct and to isolate the Note from their fraudulent scheme.
The Court should not permit this to occur.
999354.3 16
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FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020
WHEREFORE, I respectfully request that the Court deny Plaintiffs motion for
summary judgment and permit me to present my full defense of this case.
/ /•
Preview
FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NASSAU -X Index No.: 617853/2019 . VELUDI CAPITAL STRATEGIES,LLC, AFFIDAVIT IN OPPOSITION Plaintiff, TO THE MOTION OF VELUDI CAPITAL ■against- STRATEGIES.LLC MANUELPEREIRA; Defendant. •X STATE OF NEW YORK ) SS.: COUNTY OF NASSAU ) Manuel Pereira, being duly sworn, deposes and says: 1. I am named as the Defendant in this matter and I am fully familiar with the facts and circumstances set forth herein. I submit this affidavit in opposition to the motion of Veludi Capital Strategies, LLC (“Veludi” or “Plaintiff”) for summary judgment in lieu of complaint made pursuant to CPLR § 3213 (the “Motion”). 2. As demonstrated here and in the accompanying Affirmation of my counsel, Loretta Gastwirth, Esq. (the “Gastwirth Affirmation”) and the Affidavit of Suresh Ramcharitar (the “Ramcharitar Affidavit”), Plaintiffs motion must be denied in all respects for a number of reasons, including: (i) that the purported promissory note (the “Note”) Plaintiff sues upon was made in violation of New York Insurance Law § 4224(c) and is unenforceable as a matter of law and public policy; (ii)Plaintiff and its principals Chander K. Goel (“Goel”) and Sunil Kumar Ponnumala (“Kumar”), assured me both verbally and in writing that the Note would not be enforced against me; (iii) the Note was inextricably intertwined with an insurance premium 999354.3 1 1 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 financing scheme that Plaintiff, Goel and Kumar perpetrated against me and written and oral promises by them that it would not be enforced by Plaintiff or its principals, Goel and Kumar; and (iv) the Note was fraudulently induced by false promises and misrepresentations made by Plaintiff and its principals, Goel and Kumar, rendering it unenforceable. Plaintiffs portrayal of the Note as being a negotiable instrument is a falsehood it perpetrates on this Court as Plaintiff well knows it was part and parcel of an illegal insurance scheme engaged in by Plaintiff and its principals. Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment must be denied. 3. Much of what I set forth below is based upon my recollection of the facts of my dealings with Goel and Kumar, and their alter ego entity, Veludi. At the time of my dealings with them, I had no idea that what they were doing was entirely unlawful and that I was being used as a pawn in their fraudulent scheme so that they could receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions selling me multi-million dollar premium financed life insurance policies. Through their fraudulent conduct they kept me on a hamster wheel which nearly caused me financial ruin. It was not until Veludi, Goel and Kumar allowed their fraudulent scheme to collapse that I learned in 2019, that Goel, Kumar and their company, Veludi, had used me and induced me to engage in what Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company (“Mass Mutual”), the issuer of the policies and for whom Goel and Kumar acted as insurance agents, admitted to me was an insurance ■rebating” scheme unlawful under New York Insurance Law. Goel and Kumar concealed their unlawful conduct from Mass Mutual and authorities by funneling money through their alter ego entity. Plaintiff Veludi. 4. Goel, Kumar and Veludi fraudulently and unlawfully induced me to become entrapped in their premium finance life insurance scheme by promising, among other things, to pay certain premium financing costs and to advance moneys from cash values of these multi- 999354.3 2 2 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 million dollar policies (which is the subject of the Note). New York State Insurance Law § 4224(c) prohibits insurance agents from offering such incentives to induce customers to purchase or maintain insurance policies. As Mass Mutual explained to me in 2019 when the unlawful scheme came to its attention, the reason that Veludi, Goel and Kumar engaged in this unlawful rebating conduct was so that they could be paid extraordinary upfront commissions (several hundred thousand dollars) on the sale of the policies to me. 5. In December 2019, Mass Mutual, having learned through me of Goel, Kumar and Veludi’s unlawful scheme, fired Goel (unbeknownst to me, it had already fired Kumar, as I was told, for forging a customer’s signature) and Mass Mutual resolved the seven figure indebtedness Goel, Kumar and Veludi caused me to incur on the premium financed policies they sold me. 6. This Court should deny summary judgment to Veludi as it again seeks to capitalize on the unlawful acts it and its principals, Goel and Kumar,engaged in. Background Information 7. I was introduced to Goel and Kumar in or about October 2016 through a friend. Suresh (Chandler) Ramcharitar. Goel and Kumar were, among other things, life insurance agents for Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company (“Mass Mutual”) and I met them at their Long Island Mass Mutual office. At the time I first met Goel and Kumar, I was 52 years old and had a $2.5 million life insurance policy in place. 8. Goel and Kumar proposed a way that I could, in their words, 'monetize”. substantial commercial properties that my family owned in Queens, New York by purchasing large dollar insurance policies using premium financing to pay for the policies. Goel and Kumar explained that I could buy multi-million-dollar whole life insurance policies by financing the large dollar premiums; that these policies would provide substantial cash values which I could 999354.3 3 3 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 draw upon; and that the whole life insurance policies are often sold on the market and could provide additional earnings. Most importantly, they told me that I could use the Queens properties as collateral for the premium finance agreement and because of the cash values available to me when the policies were in place, the Queens properties would in essence produce substantial income or be “monetized”. Although I did not know it at the time, these representations were false. 9. I was reluctant to give up my insurance policy - and given my age, I knew that I might not be able to replace it. I have a wife and two children who depend on me for my income and if something were to happen to me, my insurance policy would provide for their financial welfare. In order to induce me to give up my policy and buy whole life insurance policies issued by Mass Mutual, Goel and Kumar acting as agents for Mass Mutual, gave me a chart (annexed hereto as Exhibit A)showing me how a $25 million policy could be obtained through premium financing and that the cash values of the policy, which I could access, would provide a substantial return. To fiirther induce me to buy the life insurance policies using premium financing, Goel and Kumar told me that they would arrange for premium financing of approximately of$1 million and that they would pay all amounts due for the policies. Unknown to me, Goel and Kumar knew that the representations they made to me were false at the time they made them, and importantly, unlawful under New York Insurance Law. I relied on their representations and purchased the policies and entered into premium financing agreements to my detriment. 10. I subsequently learned when Goel and Kumar’s unlawful scheme unraveled that the reason Goel and Kumar were willing to make these payments was because they would earn 999354.3 4 4 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 several hundred thousand dollars in eommissions on the day I obtained the polieies and that they would earn substantial additional commissions each year the policy remained in force. The Premium Finance Scheme 11. Goel and Kumar pursued me and I bought nearly $25 million in life insurance from them and gave up my old policy. Records show that on or about December 6, 2016, Goel and Kumar obtained a 20 payment Mass Mutual whole life insurance policy for me (number 22393975) with a death benefit of approximately $7,125,127.00 and with an armual premium of $272,393.61. I understand that Barrington Bank and Trust Company (also known as Wintrust) acted as the premium finance company at a point in time. 12. Records also show that on December 21, 2016, Goel and Kumar obtained a second Mass Mutual 10 payment whole life insurance policy for me (policy number 22404822) with a death benefit of $16,647,245.00 and with an annual premium of $1,000,000.00. The premiums for this policy were financed by Barrington Bank and Trust Company. 13. As things turned out, Goel and Kumar caused the $16 million policy to be surrendered for non-payment just a year later on December 21, 2017 and its available cash value and accrued loan balance was transferred over to the $7 million policy (number 22393975) which was subject to a premium finance agreement. 14. While I did not know it at the time, I have come to learn that Goel and Kumar likely received, I am advised, as much as over 50% of the first year premiums - or over $600,000 from the sale of not just one, but two policies they sold me. What I did know then is what Kumar told me - that the sale of these policies was a big deal for Kumar and Goel and as a result Mass Mutual paid for really expensive Manhattan office space for them. 999354.3 5 5 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 15. The whole premise of engaging in this premium financing proposal with Kumar and Goel, as they told me, was to “monetize” my family’s Queens commercial property through the cash values earned by the policies. The properties were to stand as collateral for the premium finance agreement. Goel and Kumar sold me on this idea, but they placed great pressure on me to buy the policies in December 2017 when they had not yet obtained approval to use the Queens properties as collateral. They convinced me to temporarily place my brokerage account worth over $1 million as collateral for the prernium financing loan and stated that they would soon substitute my brokerage account. Goel and Kumar never did substitute the commercial properties for my brokerage account as collateral for the premium financing loan. I thought all was well even with this setback because I was assured by Goel and Kumar that I could use the cash values accruing on the policies even if I could not access the funds in my brokerage account. This too was a knowingly false representation as I later learned. 16. I met with Goel and Kumar again shortly after the policies were in place at their new offices in Manhattan. Their new offices prominently displayed the sign of Veludi Capital Strategies, LLC. Throughout the next two plus years, Goel and Kumar held themselves out as being Veludi and the transactions and payments at issue in this case all came through Veludi. (I later learned that the reason the transactions were funneled through Goel and Kumar’s company Veludi was because they needed to avoid detection of them as they were unlawful “rebates” which, as insurance agents, they could not engage in.) Documents, emails they sent to me and a webpage indicating that Kumar was the Executive Partner of Veludi and that Goel was its Managing Partner. Samples of some of those documents are annexed hereto as Exhibit B. According to the New York Secretary of State, Goel is the registered agent for Veludi. A copy ofthat webpage is annexed hereto as Exhibit C. 999354.3 6 6 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 17. Initially, Goel and Kumar, as promised, paid the amounts due under the policies and the premium finance agreement. On February 17, 2017, Kumar sent me an email reconfirming in writing that he and Goel would take care of“the interest payments for the first 3 years from out of our pocket; from year 4-10 we will built the interest part from the premium financing so this way you don’t have to layout from your pocket.” A copy of this email is annexed hereto as Exhibit D. On August 15, 2017, a payment was due on the policies. According to my bank records (copies of which are annexed hereto as Exhibit E) “Veludi Capital” Strategies, the Plaintiff herein, wired $102,851.62 into my bank account. On that same day. Mass Mutual electronically withdrew that amount from my bank account. 18. On March 13, 2017, Kumar deposited $18,600.00 into my bank account with a notation of“Loan Interest” referring to the premium finance loan. A copy of this bank record is annexed hereto as Exhibit F. 19. On June 25, 2018, Plaintiff Veludi Capital Strategies gave me a check drawn on their account for $34,691.03 as payment toward premium finance charges due under policy no. 22393975. As instructed by Goel, on July 2, 2018,1 then vwote a check payable to Wintrust Life for premium finance charges in that same amount and indicating the same policy no. 22393975. Copies of both checks are annexed hereto as Exhibit G. 20. In retrospect, these deposits by Veludi into my ovm bank account further concealed the unlawful “rebating” in which Goel and Kumar engaged. Events In Spring 2017 And In 2018 21. Veludi, Kumar and Goel failed in their efforts to substitute my family’s commercial property as collateral for the premium finance loan. Consequently, my stock brokerage account which had over $1 million continued to stand as collateral for the premium 999354.3 7 7 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 financing of the policy. I needed to access the funds in my brokerage account, but I was told that I could not withdraw any funds because the account stood as collateral for the premium financing loan. I was also told by Goel and Kumar that I could not access the substantial cash values that had accrued in the policies despite their representations to me before I bought the policies. 22. I started to have doubts that Goel and Kumar would live up to the promises they made to me which induced me to buy the life insurance policies from them and engage in premium financing. In order to keep me from terminating the policies (and, as I only recently learned, to prevent Goel and Kumar from losing any substantial future annual commissions on the policies’ renewal dates), Goel and Kumar agreed to advance me money, $700,000, against the cash values that I could not access on my policies (and because I could not access the substantial sums in my brokerage account which were tied up as collateral for the premium finance agreement). Goel and Kumar agreed that they would advance the money against the policy cash values through their company, Veludi Capital Strategies.(As I later learned in 2019, these advances were also a form of “rebating” - providing money to your client in connection with insurance policies - unlawful under New York Insurance statutes. And of course, to hide their unlawful conduct from compliance detection, Goel and Kumar engaged in these advances through their company. Plaintiff Veludi.) Goel and Kumar assured me I personally would not have to repay the $700,000 - it was an advance against the substantial cash values that would accrue in the policies. 23. Kumar and Goel and their company, Veludi Capital Strategies, now claim in this lawsuit that the advance made against my policy cash values, is an outright loan to me of $700,000. That is entirely false. The alleged promissory note which Plaintiff attaches to the 999354.3 8 8 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 Complaint (the “Note”) was not meant to be anything other than an advance ~ a book entry — to be offset by accruing cash values. 24. More importantly, Goel, Kumar and Veludi never intended to enforce the Note against me. This is made obvious by a number of facts. 25. First, as the copy of the Note attached to Plaintiffs complaint indicates, Veludi never signed the Note. And frankly, I do not recall signing that Note either. Throughout my dealings with Kumar and Goel, they would, without my knowledge, sign my name to documents. not the least of which were medical condition forms necessary to maintain the policies. I have been advised by a Mass Mutual representative that Kumar was actually terminated as a life insurance agent for forging customer signatures. It is therefore questionable whether the Note is actually enforceable against me. 26. Second, although Plaintiff claims the Note according to its terms was payable in or about in October 2017, it never once sought to obtain payment of the Note - at least not until more than two years later — and after I sought help from Mass Mutual. 27. Third, as set forth in the accompanying Ramcharitar Affidavit, Suresh (Chandler) Ramcharitar, who had introduced me to Goel and Kumar, attests to the fact that Goel and Kumar assured me several times in Chandler’s presence that I personally need not repay the $700,000, with Chandler hearing Goel say to me “have I ever asked you for the money? You don’t have to pay it back. Ramcharitar Affidavit at par. 7. 28. Fourth, as demonstrated below, Goel and Kumar expressly agreed in writing to forego payment from me. Part of the reason Plaintiff agreed not to seek payment from me is that there were and would be substantial cash values supporting the policies and my policies 999354.3 9 9 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 generated huge commissions for Goel and Kumar and would continue to generate them if the policies were maintained. 29. In or about late 2017, premiums and/or financing amounts were due to Mass Mutual, but despite their assurances to me, Goel and Kumar failed to pay those amounts. In early 2018,1 learned that my main policy for nearly $17 million was now cancelled for non-payment. At a meeting in or about March 2018 which I attended with Chandler, I expressed my deep frustration that Goel and Kumar had not maintained the policies as promised, that I still could not access my brokerage account and I was denied access to the accrued cash values of the remaining policy. I wanted to terminate my involvement with them. Goel and Kumar tried to convince me to stay with them and maintain the $7,000,000 whole life policy. They represented that they would transfer the available cash value from the nearly $16,000,000 policy to the $7,000,000 policy and that they would put their promises in writing that they would pay for the policies which in essence were interest payments. Goel, Kumar and their associate Robert Dunbar, did so, signing a “Promissory Note & Personal Guarenty” [sic] dated as of April 12, 2018 (the “Guaranty”), a copy of which is annexed hereto as Exhibit H. 30. In this Guaranty, Goel, Kumar and Dunbar guaranteed that CONSIDERATION OF MR. PEREIRA BEING SOLICITED TO ENTER INTO A ‘PREMIUM FINANCING TRANSACTION’ REQUIRING THE INVESTMENT ON BEHALF OF MR. PEREIRA OF ONE MILLION dollars ($1,000,000.00) plus other valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, MR. GOEL, MR. KUMAR AND MR. DUNBAR personally guarantees the prompt, full and complete performance of any and all present and future duties, obligations and indebtedness (the “Debt”) due to the contract held under policies no. 22528804/22393975....” Exhibit H at 1. The Guaranty further provides that 999354.3 10 10 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 Goel, Kumar and Dunbar guarantees that they will “promptly pay the full amount of interest of the Debt as and when the same will, in any manner, be or become due....” Exhibit H at 1-2. The Guaranty further explicitly provided the payment by Goel, Kumar and Dunbar of the amounts due under the premium financing loan as follows: MR. CHANDER K. GOEL, MR. SUNIL KUMAR AND MR. ROBERT DUNBAR HAVE AGREED TO PAY THE INTEREST FOR THE SIXTY MONTH PERIOD ON THE TWO (2) WHOLE INSURANCE POLICIES LISTED ABOVE AND IS EFFECTIVE AS OF 2016 TO POLICIES MATHURITY [SIC] 2021 AND HAVE ALSO COMMITTED TO THE TERMS AS STATED IN ADDENDUM “A”(ATTACHED). Exhibit H at 3. 31. Addendum A to the Guaranty sets forth for five (5) years the amount of the increasing death benefit and the amount of the “CV” - cash value - which started at $218,808 in year 1 and in five years rose to over $2.5 million. Exhibit H, Addendum. 32. The Guaranty was made as an inducement for me not to terminate the policy and to reassure me that Goel and Kumar would make the payments as promised. If I terminated the policy, their future commissions on the policies would not be paid and the $700,000.00 advance made in 2017 (the Note upon which Plaintiff sued in this case) would not be repaid because the substantial cash values that were anticipated as expressly set forth in the Addendum to the Guaranty would disappear with the lapse of the policy. Thus, not only did Kumar and Goel agree to pay all charges associated with the policy, they agreed not to seek payment of the $700,000 which is the subject to this lawsuit. As the Ramcharitar Affidavit states, Goel stated to me:“why are you so upset Manny, you don’t have to pay back the $700,000 that was advanced.” At another meeting, he reiterated the point, stating, “have I ever asked you for the money? You don’t have to pay it back. 999354.3 11 11 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 33. In that respect, the Guaranty contains a most important provision which inextricably ties the Note at issue in this action and the promises of Goel and Kumar by and through their entity, Plaintiff Veludi Capital Strategies, including that I would not have to personally repay the $700,000 advance against the policy cash values, stating as follows: If MR. PEREIRA violates and proceeds to go to compliance of MR. GOEL, MR. KUMAR AND MR. DUNBAR then this agreement will become null and void at that time. At that time, we will then proceed in recouping the funds of the promissory note that was arranged through a third party which was signed by MR. PEREIRA on June 1, 2017 in the amoimt of $700,000 plus any interest and expenses that may be incurred. Exhibit H at 3. I had no idea at the time what going to “compliance” meant or that there was anything wrong in what Goel, Kumar and Veludi were doing. And while Goel, Kumar and Dunbar signed the agreement, I do not have a copy of the agreement signed by me and I do not recall signing it. 34. Goel and Kumar lived up to their promises for at least a short time after they executed the Guaranty. On June 25, 2018, they sent a check made payable to me in the sum of $34,691.03 indicating that it was to be payment with respect to policy no. 22393975. The check was from Goel and Kumar’s entity, Veludi Capital Strategies, LLC,the Plaintiff in this action. I deposited the check and as they directed, made my own check payable to Wintrust Life, the premium financing company, in the amount of$34,691.03. Exhibit G. The Unlawful Conduct Is Exposed 35. I tried a number of times after the April 2018 Guaranty was executed to draw down on the cash values that were accruing on my policy but was told each time by Mass Mutual that I could not and that I should speak with Mass Mutual agents, Goel and Kumar. I was confused as I understood the cash value was the reason that Goel and Kumar suggested that I enter into these arrangements - so that I could gain income. This was not the case. 999354.3 12 12 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 36. At the end of December 2018, I started receiving notices that Goel and Kumar had not made the promised payments to the premium finance company and that my life insurance policy no. 22393975 for $7,000,000 was about to be cancelled. Annexed hereto as Exhibit I is a copy of the December 6, 2018 letter fi-om Barrington Bank and Trust Company (Wintrust Community Bank). While Goel and Kumar said they would make the required payments, they did not. 37. Not only had the policy lapsed, my brokerage account was now in danger of being foreclosed on and I would lose everything. I spoke to Goel in January 2019 and he told me he would not do anything to help me, that he was in trouble personally and he told me to “go legal. We stopped talking after January 2019. 38. Thereafter, I reached out to Mass Mutual’s customer service department to see what could be done and was put in touch with John Milbier, an investigative consultant working for Mass Mutual. A friend of mine advised me that he believed that what Goel, Kumar and Veludi had done was an illegal insurance scheme called “rebating.' 39. In May 2019, Mr. Milbier confirmed that what Goel and Kumar did through their company. Plaintiff Veludi Capital Strategies, was unlawful and that it was indeed “rebating.” He confirmed that the law prohibited Kumar and Goel from promising a thing of value to a customer to induce them to engage in a transaction involving life insurance policies, which would include paying premiums and finance charges on my behalf. I understand that Kumar, Goel and Veludi’s $700,000 advance of cash values which is the subject of the Note, is also a form of unlawful “rebating.” Goel and Kumar committed unlawful “rebating” in order to keep me tied to the policies so that they could earn substantial commissions. As set forth in my counsel’s Gastwirth Affirmation, New York Insurance Law provides that such a rebating scheme 999354.3 13 13 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 is not only unlawful, it is a criminal act. In retrospect, I now understand why the Guaranty stated that I could not go to “compliance”- Goel and Kumar, by and through Veludi Capital Strategies, wanted to prevent their unlawful scheme from being discovered, especially by Mass Mutual. 40. When learning the facts as I have described in this Affidavit, Mass Mutual agreed that it would pay off the balance of the loan and interest due to the premium finance company in a confidential sum less the accrued and substantial cash value of the policy, provided I surrendered the policy. A copy of a letter from Mass Mutual to that effect dated November 22, 2019 and my agreement with Mass Mutual is annexed hereto as Exhibit J. I have filed these documents in redacted form until Mass Mutual releases me from confidentiality provisions contained therein or the Court directs me to produce it. I await Mass Mutual’s response to my request to be allowed to produce the document; alternatively, the Court may order me to produce the document which would fulfill my obligations under the confidentiality provision. 41. Mass Mutual also took action against Goel and Kumar as Mass Mutual agents. As it turns out, and according to the New York State Department of Finance’s website, Kumar had already been terminated from Mass Mutual on December 6, 2018. A copy of this information from New York State Department of Finance website is annexed hereto as Exhibit K. (I was told this was because he had forged a customer’s signature.) 42. Goel was terminated from Mass Mutual in mid-October 2019 according to the New York State Department of Financial Services website, a copy of a page of which is annexed hereto as Exhibit L. In addition, Goel’s registration with FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) now posts the scheme he perpetrated against me as a negative disclosure made by Mass Mutual. A copy of a Broker Check Report for Goel made available by FINRA (Exhibit M) indicates that he was discharged from Mass Mutual on October 11, 2019 “in 999354.3 14 14 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 connection with inappropriate traditional insurance sales practices.' Exhibit M at 11. Not surprisingly, Goel had previously been discharged from New York Life Securities LLC in 2016 for similar misconduct. Exhibit M at 11. According to the Broker Check Report: “Mr. Goel admitted to directing an agent under his supervision to obtain cashier checks from the agent’s own personal bank account to pay the premiums for two life insurance policies on behalf of customers with no familial relationship. Exhibit M at 11. In other words, the very same fraudulent scheme Goel perpetrated against me, he had perpetrated against another person. He settled those matters. In that regard, Mr. Goel’s termination from Mass Mutual was also reported about in an article about him on December 20, 2019. A copy of that article is annexed hereto as Exhibit N. The Court Should Not Enforce The Note And Should Deny Summary Judgment 43. The Court should not enforce the Note and it should deny summary judgment to Plaintiff. 44. As set forth in the Gastwirth Affirmation, the Note was part and parcel of an illegal transaction under New York Insurance Law - “rebating”. Goel and Kumar tried to hide their unlawful conduct from detection by regulatory authorities and Mass Mutual by using their wholly owned company. Plaintiff Veludi Capital Strategies, as a conduit through which it would funnel money to unlawfully pay monies due the premium finance company and Mass Mutual on my policies. 45. The Note was part and parcel of this unlawful scheme. Not only did Kumar and Goel unlawfully pay monies to the premium finance company, they induced me to remain in their unlawful scheme by promising to advance monies against the cash value building in the policies - another form of rebating. Goel and Kumar put their unlawful conduct in writing in the 999354.3 15 15 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 Guaranty whereby they also promised not to seek payment on the Note provided I would not tell compliance about their activities. 46. The Ramcharitar Affidavit confirms that Goel stated in no uncertain terms that I would not have to pay back any of the $700,000 which is the subject of the Note. 47. I was fraudulently induced to enter into the premium financing transactions with Goel and Kumar by false representations, among other things, that I could withdraw cash values and that Goel and Kumar would pay the policy charges. I am a victim of the fraudulent and unlawful conduct of Goel and Kumar which they perpetrated through their alter ego entity. Veludi Capital Strategies, and I have sustained substantial damages as a result. 48. It is with the greatest audacity that Kumar and Goel now seek to have this Court enforce a Note borne of illegal conduct and to isolate the Note from their fraudulent scheme. The Court should not permit this to occur. 999354.3 16 16 of 17 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 02/28/2020 02:28 PM INDEX NO. 617853/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/28/2020 WHEREFORE, I respectfully request that the Court deny Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment and permit me to present my full defense of this case. / /•