Thaxton Class Action

Sterling IRA's

Jim Garrett arranged for some investors to place their money in Sterling Trust, and Garrett then directed that money back into Thaxton notes (though not everyone realized that was where the money went). Sterling does not invest the money for you, it merely follows your instructions or, in this case, Jim Garrett's instructions. Jim Garrett, incidentally, was recently convicted of securities fraud. If you want to choose stocks, bonds, or funds to invest in, Sterling is a good place to put your money. Otherwise, you probably want your money in a bank or some other IRA account. You can do this by requesting Thaxton (through The Finley Group) to make distributions to you or to another IRA custodian.

Sterling has been sending out letters saying if you terminate your account with them they may report that to the IRS. That doesn't matter. As long as you put the money promptly into another IRA account you should not have to pay taxes. (This is generally true, but different people have different tax issues and should consult with their personal tax advisors.)

Sterling has been sending out bills for unpaid fees. If you want Sterling to continue to hold your money, you should certainly pay those fees. If you are no longer using Sterling's services, it is questionable whether you owe those fees.

Without reviewing your individual history with Sterling, we cannot give you specific advice whether you should pay bills they send you. We can say that the amount most people owe is relatively small and that it seems unlikely that Sterling would do anything to collect those small amounts, if you feel you should not pay the fees. It also appears that many noteholders would have strong arguments that they should not have to pay those fees. Other noteholders may feel that Sterling earned their fees, and choose to pay them.