A woman has filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, claiming that the insurance company breached contractual obligations by reversing a fund transfer from her retirement account.
According to the lawsuit filed by Orlandina Balan, she has been contributing to a Non-ERISA Tax-Sheltered Annuity account with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company since November 2015 as part of her retirement planning. In early 2024, seeking better investment options, she decided to transfer her account balance of $87,707.31 to Equitable Advisors, LLC. The process was initially approved by U.S. OMNI & TSACG Compliance Services (Omni), which oversees such transactions for her employer, the Copiague School District.
However, after Mass Mutual issued a check to Equitable and transferred the funds successfully in March 2024, they reversed the transaction without notifying Balan or obtaining her consent. The reversal was attributed to alleged issues with loan status and distribution eligibility—claims that contradicted previous assurances given to Balan and her financial advisor, Zachary Krischer, by Mass Mutual representatives. Despite submitting updated forms and repeated confirmations from Omni that no loan impediment existed, Mass Mutual continued to deny the transfer, citing various reasons.
This mishandling led to significant financial losses for Balan as she missed out on potential interest earnings at Equitable Advisors and disrupted her retirement planning efforts. In response to these grievances, she filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau but received dismissive responses from Mass Mutual, reiterating their stance without addressing core issues.
Balan’s lawsuit accuses Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company of breach of contract for failing to honor the transfer request despite compliance with all requirements and approvals from Omni. She also claims breach of fiduciary duty for not acting in her best interest as an annuity contract participant and beneficiary. Additionally, she alleges unjust enrichment as Mass Mutual retained control over her funds contrary to the guidelines provided by Omni. Furthermore, Balan accuses Mass Mutual of conversion—exercising unauthorized control over her property—and deceptive business practices under New York General Business Law §349 due to misleading information about transfer processes.
Balan is seeking a preliminary injunctive relief directing immediate fund transfer per instructions approved by Omni. She is demanding monetary damages exceeding $75,000 plus attorney fees while requesting trial by jury on all triable issues.
The plaintiff is represented by attorneys Kenneth F. McCallion and Darragh O’Boyle of McCallion & Associates LLP. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.