Transparent Settlement Co.
Draft — pending review by a licensed attorney. All factual claims below are sourced to the public investigations, court filings, and regulatory actions cited at the bottom of this page.
Why we exist

The industry built a bad reputation. We're trying to build a better one.

Last updated: May 26, 2026

If you've heard the structured-settlement industry isn't exactly clean — you've heard right. John Oliver dedicated a full segment of Last Week Tonight to it. The Washington Post won a Polk Award reporting on it. State attorneys general have indicted operators. We're not here to claim every buyer is bad. We're here to say: the worst practices are well-documented — and our model is built to make them structurally impossible.

What sellers have lost
19¢
on the dollar — what one Maryland factoring company paid lead-poisoned victims for their settlements, per the Pulitzer-finalist Washington Post investigation.
Read the investigation ↗  ·  Terrence McCoy, The Washington Post, Aug. 2015 · Polk Award winner
The receipts

This isn't one bad week. It's a pattern with a paper trail.

Six pieces of public record, one decade. Journalism, regulators, and courts have all reached the same conclusion about how the worst actors in this industry operate.

2012
Antitrust suit vs. J.G. Wentworth

Complaint alleged collusion via the National Association of Settlement Purchasers not to make competitive bids on each other's customers — and use of the court system to interfere with competitors' transactions.

Court filing
2015
The Washington Post — Polk Award · Pulitzer finalist

Terrence McCoy documented Access Funding buying out lead-paint victims' settlements at as little as 19–20¢ on the dollar — prompting Maryland AG review and state legislative reform.

Investigative journalism
2016
NPR — national follow-up

"Baltimore Lead-Poison Victims Lose Money In Settlements" — brought the WaPo reporting to a national audience and triggered additional state-level scrutiny.

Broadcast journalism
2016
CFPB Civil Investigative Demand

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a CID to J.G. Wentworth to determine whether the company had engaged in practices violating federal consumer financial protection laws.

Federal regulator
2021
Maryland AG indictments

Three individuals indicted in connection with the Access Funding scheme. Maryland now requires every factoring company to register with the AG before acquiring payment rights in the state.

State enforcement
2026
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

A full main-story segment on the factoring industry (May 17, 2026) — featuring J.G. Wentworth and reporting that some sellers lose 60%+ of their settlement's value after rates, fees, and aggressive structures.

Watch on YouTube →
What John Oliver got right

The numbers he cited match the public record.

When the May 2026 segment reported that some sellers receive only pennies on the dollar after discount rates, fees, and aggressive purchase structures, that wasn't editorializing. It matched what investigative journalists, federal regulators, and state attorneys general had been documenting independently for the better part of a decade.

The discount rate, the rubber-stamped court hearings, the steered legal advice, the forum shopping — all of it is on the public record, going back to 2012. — Synthesis of the cited sources below.

Don't take our word for it

Watch the 25-minute Last Week Tonight segment.

HBO · Aired May 17, 2026 · Official LastWeekTonight channel
Watch on YouTube ↗
Structurally different, not just better-intentioned

Four practices that turn a legitimate product into a predatory one — and what we do instead.

Across all of the reporting above, the same four patterns show up again and again. Our model is set up so each one is structurally impossible for us — not just unwelcome.

What the worst actors do
What we do, structurally

Hide the discount rate

Quote you in dollars ("$40K for $80K of payments") and never disclose the implied APR. The difference between a fair rate and a high one is tens of thousands on the same payments.

Show the rate, first and always

Every quote — including the free calculator on our homepage — shows present value, cash to you, and the implied APR. The math is on the page. Compare us to any other offer in seconds.

Treat court approval as a rubber stamp

Hearings can last minutes, the seller is often unrepresented, and the order is signed. The "best interest" finding required by law becomes a formality.

One published rate per risk class

Our discount rate is built from four publicly-stated components (cost of capital + ops + servicing + margin). The same for every customer. No haggling — because there's nothing to haggle.

Steer or waive "independent advice"

The statutory right to independent legal or financial advice can be waived in writing, or routed to a professional with a relationship to the buyer.

We pay for your independent counsel

We give you contact information for independent attorneys and planners and pay for a one-hour consultation if you don't have one. We'd rather you sign with full counsel than rush.

Forum-shop the friendliest judge

File the transfer petition in counties or states with the lightest-touch judges, rather than where the seller actually lives — making meaningful court oversight even less likely.

Your home county, every time

The judge who reviews your transfer is the one closest to where you actually live. We don't forum-shop. Period.

Save this for any call

Six questions that protect you with any buyer — including us.

Any honest buyer will answer all six in writing without flinching. If a buyer dodges any of them, that itself is your answer.

Before you sign anything

Ask any buyer these six questions.

  1. What's the implied APR on this offer? Show me the math.
  2. What's the present value of the payments you're buying — and how much of that am I receiving?
  3. What are all the fees, and are any charged whether or not the deal closes?
  4. Which court will hear the transfer? Is it in my home county?
  5. Will the price change between now and the court hearing?
  6. Will you pay for an independent attorney to review this for me?
Screenshot this card. Read these questions to anyone who calls you about your settlement. The way a buyer answers is the answer.
Context

The laws have improved — but only partly.

It's worth saying clearly: this isn't 2012 anymore. Federally, Internal Revenue Code §5891 imposes a steep excise tax on any buyer that purchases payment rights without a qualifying court order — so the court-approval requirement now has real teeth. At the state level, most states (including Florida, where we operate) have adopted Structured Settlement Protection Acts requiring advance written disclosure, notice to interested parties, and a "best interest" finding on the record.

These laws have made the worst abuses harder. They have not made them impossible — and they do not, by themselves, prevent a buyer from quoting only a dollar amount and never showing the rate behind it. That's a choice the buyer makes. We made the opposite one.

See your numbers

See exactly what your settlement is worth — with the discount rate visible.

No phone number. No sign-up. Just the math, on the page.

Important. Each factual claim above is sourced to the public record. Nothing here should be read as a current accusation against any specific company beyond what those public sources themselves state. We are not lawyers; this is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. This page is a draft pending review by licensed counsel. If you are considering selling structured settlement payments, consult a qualified professional about your specific situation.