The notes, often sold by insurance agents, are in fact very risky and often fraudulent.
Many victims are elderly.
In recent weeks, securities regulators in 28 states have taken scores of actions against hundreds of individuals and entities. These actions involved more than 3,000 investors. The cases, all brought in recent weeks and months, highlight what state regulators say is a serious and growing problem. In addition, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges in 13 enforcement actions against 38 individuals and 22 entities involved in the fraudulent sale of promissory notes. In all, the defendants named in these actions are alleged to have fraudulently obtained hundreds of millions of dollars from investors.