Greedy Stevie Rich sent out a memo today saying Mutual of America is getting hammered by fraudsters. Admitted we didn't have top of the line security measures in place. I'm sure Lloyds of London and CHUBB were sweating the future $1M claims when the read Richie Rich's stunning admonition. My favorite movie is Point Break--The 4 Ex Presidents are fraudsters are cu----g after you. ;)
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“While our Company has been mostly unaffected” - This is not a true statement. The Company has been scammed out of millions.
How many millions did The Firm lose to fraudsters in 2023 and 2024 ? How fraud reports were made in those two years ? Why does the Firm still use Experian who has had a number of data breaches ? Why does the firm still allow for paper loan and distribution forms to be submitted without a driver's license, passport or a Cheek Swab for proper ID ? Why does the Firm call people who don't even have verified phone numbers on the accounts ? Why doesn't the Firm have a -fu-ckin sybersecurity promise or guaranty ? Why no SOc2 or SOC3 as required by NYDFS or DOL best practice. Fraud and account protection needs to be much better and this is not Fake AI generated news from MSDNC or tik tok
If the Firm's security is so great, why don't they issue a Soc3 or a Soc2 like the DOL highly suggests. Why ? Because they know there are tons of gaps and vulnerabilities. Don't we have any board members who know Cybersecurity and Biometrics ?
I'm very surprised there hasn't been a policyholder lawsuit filed against The Firm yet for breach of fiduciary oversight. I've got to imagine there are some lawyers reaching out to us who got canned trying to gin something up.
The truth is that Mutual has been impacted by fraudsters and you are getting hit hard like many other financial institutions. Just admit it. Don't cover it up. MOA probably is getting hammered for millions a year in fraud. It's the truth and you know it. Stop
The spin and the lies and tell the truth. Mutual is not largely unaffected.
More fake news (please try to do better). The letter from Stephen Rich doesn't say that fraud is a problem at the Company. Here is what the letter says:
As fraud becomes a growing issue across the financial industry, fraud prevention is another area we’re focusing on to protect our customers. In 2023, U.S. consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud, nearly half of which was to investment scams. While our Company has been mostly unaffected, various business units are taking proactive steps to help customers update their contact information and further safeguard their accounts from scammers. OTDS is also developing an enhanced registration process to align with industry best practices for online account setup for participants. We know criminals will continue to pursue fraudulent activities, whether by phone, text or email, so please remain vigilant for unusual activities and inquiries related to our customer accounts and Company business.
Stephen was intimately involved over the past 20 years with the decisions The Firm has made. He was at the very same decision making tables as Greed, Festog, Severin, and Donaldson. He knew exactly what was going on. So, he might have a different style or personality then Greed, he was "present at the creation" of all the problems. Thus far, we haven't seen a material change compared with Greed. They are still "hiding stuff" from policyholders and employees. This real estate project building 287 luxury condos is alarming. They said last year they were deep sixing that project. Now, they fire 225 employees, and sell 320 Park, and they are literally obsessed with it again. Why ? No mention at all by Rich or the CFO about the excess spending. Level with us. Come clean. Instead of spending money, shore up our pension and make it 100% funded by making a $50M payment to it. Especially while the stock market is in the "golden age." Invest $50M in shoring up the pension and get it 100% funded.
10-year retiree, thank you for your post. We all can clearly see the impact of Greed, Festog and Donaldson. We need first hand accounts that Rich is different. We need more transparency as promised by Rich. Let’s start with a monthly state of the union for employees throughout 2025.
I have been gone ten years but worked closely with both of them, but there are very big difference between Greed and Stephen. John was just not very smart, Stephen is very intelligent. John wouldn't listen if it wasn't what he wanted to hear; Stephen seeks out ideas from others who may know more than he does on a given topic. John hasno personal ethics and was extremely dishonest; Stephen is the exact opposite. John is simply not a leader; Stephen is.
Why Tom liked Greed is something I never, ever understood. Give Stephen a chance, Greed and Festog turned the once good company into shambles; it will take a while to fix that.
So, how exactly is Steve Rich different than John Greed?
Rich didn't come right out and say that we had weak cyber security but he didn't say that we had the strongest either. I wonder known if the increasing amount of fraud and lack of top notch controls ultimately forced Rozich out. Let's be honest and clear: Mutual doesn't even issue a SOC2 nor does it have any Cybersecurity Guarantee. Those are two huge red flags for a recordkeeper and it is shameful.
Inside sources have indicated that fraud is costing the company in the millions each year. Think about why that is a big deal. For every million diverted from the General Account, that is $1M less going into the pockets of Board Members, Rich Greed, and Field Executives like Gomer Pyle Gregory and Sherman Tank Johnson.