CALIFORNIA – California attorney general Rob Bonta announced October 16 a settlement resolving claims that The Aliera Companies, Inc. and its subsidiaries, along with Sharity Ministries, Inc. (formerly Trinity Healthshare, Inc.), violated state law by selling sham health insurance plans in California.

“Aliera and Trinity tricked over 14,000 Californians into thinking that they were purchasing a legitimate health plan, all while collecting tens of millions of dollars in monthly premiums,” Bonta said.

In January 2022, Bonta sued Aliera and Trinity, alleging they falsely promoted Trinity as a health care sharing ministry (HCSM). 

HCSMs are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, typically made up of members of a specific religious community who contribute to a shared pool to cover catastrophic or unexpected healthcare costs in accordance with their religious beliefs.

However, Trinity was never an HCSM. 

Its plans were unauthorized health coverage operated and sold by Aliera, a for-profit company not registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. 

The companies ignored key consumer protections. Instead of covering members’ healthcare costs, they routinely denied claims and kept nearly 84% of members’ contributions.

Settlement imposes $34 million penalty

The settlement bars Aliera and Trinity from operating in California and imposes a $34 million penalty for legal violations.

Bonta advises Californians to research carefully when seeking health insurance and to first consider applying for coverage through Covered California. 

Moses family used Trinity and Aliera to sell sham insurance

Shelley Steele, her husband Tim Moses, and their son Chase (the Moses family) allegedly used Trinity and Aliera to sell sham health insurance.

The attorney general’s claims against the Moses family, filed in January 2022, remain pending in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In June 2023, Bonta also settled with Joseph Guarino III, former president of Trinity, and William Thead III, former CEO. Under the settlements, both were barred from doing business in 

California and must assist in the ongoing litigation.

The settlements also imposed a $1 million penalty on each defendant. Guarino and Thead had been recruited by the Moses family.

Trinity and Aliera have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware.

Through bankruptcy, Trinity and Aliera ceased operations, liquidated assets, and now function solely as liquidating trusts pursuing recovery from Aliera insiders and others who aided their unlawful activities.

Companies are prohibited from operating in California

As part of the settlement, Trinity and Aliera are: 

• Prohibited from engaging in any HCSM marketing, sales, or other operations in California or aimed at any California resident, now or in the future.
• Prohibited from engaging in any acts or practices that violate California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law.  

In April 2021, after multiple consumer complaints that their HCSM plans denied coverage and medical payments, Bonta issued a consumer alert warning Californians about illegitimate HCSMs.

Unlike Covered California plans, HCSMs do not guarantee payment for services and exclude essential health benefits such as prescriptions, preexisting conditions, birth control, and mental health care.

Victims or targets of suspicious HCSM marketing can file a complaint at ‪oag.ca.gov/report.

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