A South Florida insurance agent who allegedly preyed on elderly Jews had his license revoked by Florida’s chief financial officer.Leighton David Applefeld, the owner of Focus Financial Services in Delray Beach, used “religious affinity” to gain the trust of Jewish senior citizens, convincing them to buy “inappropriate insurance products” that paid him a high commission, a press release from Florida CFO Alex Sink said.Applefeld misrepresented the policies at seminars he ran at Jewish centers, restaurants and other Broward and Palm Beach locations, the release said. He convinced clients to cancel their current annuities and investments in order to fund the policies he sold without explaining the large fees associated with such a transaction.”It is morally reprehensible to use religion to prey upon Floridians who are merely looking for a safe place to keep their finances,” Sink said in the press release.Applefeld, who faced 18 administrative charges filed by Sink’s office, agreed to be permanently banned from the insurance business in lieu of fighting the charges.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
