After the 1985 Philadelphia bombing of the MOVE Group, the city awarded Andino Ward, the father of the only child survivor the bombing, a staggering $840,000 in addition to increasing payments every month for the rest of his life (which could eventually total $9 million).
Ward, the father of “Birdie Africa” who has since been renamed Michael Moses Ward, decided to sign over $334,000 of his compensation funds to a Texas-based lump-sum advancement company called Rapid Settlements. In return, Ward would receive an immediate lump sum of $32,000 resulting in a net loss of over $300,000.
It may seem like a strange deal to make, but many people who are in economic desperation use companies such as Rapid Settlements and J.G. Wentworth to collect immediate lump sums from Court Settlements, while taking statistically staggering losses.
A Federal Appeals Court is lambasting the Houston firm and will override Ward’s deal on the grounds of Consumer Protection because no State Court had signed off on it.
Michael Moses Ward was the only child survivor of the 1985 MOVE Group bombing that killed 11 including five children, destroyed 61 houses and left 250 people homeless.
