Brazenly operating within the illicit world of stranger-owned life insurance (“STOLI”), unscrupulous investors and colluding life insurance agents unapologetically engage in a calculated dance of fraud and deceit. With the skill of seasoned con artists, these “Profiteers of Death” prey upon the unsuspecting elderly community, strategically targeting senior assisted living facilities by dangling the golden carrot of easy money in exchange for unwittingly selling away their insurability for little more than copper pennies. Standing idle like salivating vultures, the Profiteers of Death make a mockery of legislative attempts to curb the illegitimate secondary market, perfectly exploiting regulatory deficiencies as they orchestrate their symphony of greed and net millions upon the elder-insured’s death. In this illicit charade, morality takes a backseat to profit, and the Profiteers’ shameless success serves only to illuminate their abusive scheme plagued by ethical bankruptcy and legislative shortsightedness. Case law is fraught with Profiteers prevailing on their twisted manipulation of long-standing insurance doctrines, serving as a damning indictment of legislative failures to uniformly codify even the most fundamental principles of insurable interest and incontestability. Unfortunately, those succumbed to the perils of the Profiteers’ snake oil must face the burden of a regulatory landscape where ambiguity reigns supreme and judicial interpretations resemble a game of legal roulette.

By examining pervasive secondary market abuse post anti-STOLI legislation and advocating for renewed state-wide codification of insurable interest and incontestability requirements, this Article contributes to the scholarly literature on insurance fraud and draws attention to egregious instances of fraud and manipulation that continue to undermine fundamental insurance principles. Through illuminating case examples, this Article underscores judicial inconsistencies and the detrimental impact of stranger-owned life insurance on elderly insureds, beneficiaries, and the broader industry. It concludes by advancing a model statute aimed at addressing the root cause of STOLI abuse necessary to mitigate the continued risks posed by the Profiteers of Death.