The state securities commissioner filed a preliminary cease and desist order against Sheila Turner for allegedly selling more than $1 million of unregistered securities to Hawai'i investors.

Turner dealt in viatical settlement contracts, a transaction in which an insured person who is usually terminally ill sells the benefits of his or her life insurance policy to a third party in return for a lump-sum cash payment equal to a percentage of the policy's face value, according to a news release from the commissioner's office. The purchaser realizes a profit if, when the insured dies, the policy benefits paid are greater than the purchase price.

The order alleges that Turner violated the state's securities registration and antifraud provisions. The state is seeking permanent injunctions against future violations, restitution, and administrative penalties of $300,000.