Emergent Capital (EMGC) 10-Q 15 May 17 2017 Q1 Quarterly report Financial data

Document and Entity Information

Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	May 12, 2017
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	Emergent Capital, Inc..
Entity Central Index Key	1,494,448
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2,017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false
Trading Symbol	IFT
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (shares)		28,413,844

Consolidated Balance Sheets

Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	[1]
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 2,100	$ 2,246
Certificates of deposit	1,004	6,025
Prepaid expenses and other assets	2,601	1,112
Deposits - other	1,377	1,347
Life settlements, at estimated fair value	708	680
Fixed assets, net	208	232
Investment in affiliates	2,384	2,384
Total assets	565,119	525,818
Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	3,873	2,590
Other liabilities	273	359
Total liabilities	390,437	352,944
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 15)
Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock (par value $0.01 per share, 80,000,000 authorized at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016; 29,021,844 issued and 28,413,844 outstanding as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016	290	290
Preferred stock (par value $0.01 per share, 40,000,000 authorized; 0 issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016)	0	0
Treasury Stock, net of cost (608,000 shares as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016)	(2,534)	(2,534)
Additional paid-in-capital	307,760	307,647
Accumulated deficit	(130,834)	(132,529)
Total stockholders’ equity	174,682	172,874
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	565,119	525,818
Variable Interest Entity
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	15,923	9,072
Life settlements, at estimated fair value	505,964	497,720
Receivable for maturity of life settlements (VIE Note 4)	32,850	5,000
Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	683	593
Convertible Notes
Liabilities
Interest payable	806	2,272
Convertible Notes, net of discount and deferred debt costs (Note 11)	65,002	60,535
Senior Secured Notes
Liabilities
Interest payable	213	213
Senior Secured Notes, net of discount and deferred debt costs (Note 12)	$ 29,387	$ 29,297
[1]	Derived from audited consolidated financial statements.

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Pa

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	[1]
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Common stock, par value (usd per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	80,000,000	80,000,000
Common stock, shares issued (shares)	29,021,844	29,021,844
Common stock, shares outstanding (shares)	28,413,844	28,413,844
Preferred stock, par value (usd per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized (shares)	40,000,000	40,000,000
Preferred stock, shares issued (shares)	0	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding (shares)	0	0
Treasury Stock (shares)	608,000	608,000
[1]	Derived from audited consolidated financial statements.

Consolidated Statements of Oper

Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income
Change in fair value of life settlements (Notes 8 & 13)	$ 25,540	$ 8,388
Other income	50	66
Total income	25,590	8,454
Expenses
Interest expense	7,535	6,050
Change in fair value of Revolving Credit Facilities (Notes 9, 10 & 13)	11,831	4,097
Personnel costs	1,085	1,557
Legal fees	995	1,818
Professional fees	1,604	1,643
Insurance	192	244
Other selling, general and administrative expenses	464	490
Total expenses	23,706	15,899
Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes	1,884	(7,445)
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	0	0
Net income (loss) from continuing operations	1,884	(7,445)
Discontinued Operations:
Income (loss) from discontinued operations before income taxes	(189)	(68)
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	0	0
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations	(189)	(68)
Net income (loss)	$ 1,695	$ (7,513)
Basic and diluted income (loss) per share:
Continuing operations (usd per share)	$ 0.07	$ (0.27)
Discontinued operations (usd per share)	(0.01)	0
Basic and diluted income (loss) per share available to common shareholders (usd per share)	$ 0.06	$ (0.27)
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted (shares)	28,148,632	27,481,249

Consolidated Statement of Stock

Consolidated Statement of Stockholders' Equity (Unaudited) - 3 months ended Mar. 31, 2017 - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total		Common Stock	Treasury Stock	Additional Paid-in Capital	Accumulated Deficit
Beginning Balance (shares) at Dec. 31, 2016			29,021,844	(608,000)
Beginning Balance at Dec. 31, 2016	$ 172,874	[1]	$ 290	$ (2,534)	$ 307,647	$ (132,529)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	1,695					1,695
Stock-based compensation	139				139
ATM stock issuance costs	(26)				(26)
Ending Balance (shares) at Mar. 31, 2017			29,021,844	(608,000)
Ending Balance at Mar. 31, 2017	$ 174,682		$ 290	$ (2,534)	$ 307,760	$ (130,834)
[1]	Derived from audited consolidated financial statements.

Consolidated Statements of Cash

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income	$ 1,695	$ (7,513)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	26	27
Stock-based compensation expense	139	60
Finance cost and fees withheld by borrower	194	200
Interest Paid in Kind on Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes	3,477	0
Change in fair value of life settlements	(25,540)	(8,388)
Change in fair value of Revolving Credit Facilities	11,831	4,097
Interest income	(9)	(5)
Change in assets and liabilities:
Deposits - other	(30)	(150)
Prepaid expenses and other assets	(1,510)	(533)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	1,373	(291)
Other liabilities	(78)	1,380
Net cash used in operating activities	(8,819)	(11,479)	$ (45,600)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of fixed assets, net of disposals	0	(5)
Certificate of deposit	5,025	0
Premiums paid on life settlements	(20,582)	(16,653)
Proceeds from maturity of life settlements	10,000	15,480
Deposits on purchase of life settlements	0	(31)
Net cash used in investing activities	(5,557)	(1,209)
Cash flows from financing activities
Payment under finance lease obligations	(9)	(9)
Net cash provided by financing activities	21,081	40,243
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents	6,705	27,555
Cash and cash equivalents, at beginning of the period	11,318	20,341	20,341
Cash and cash equivalents, at end of the period	18,023	47,896	$ 11,318
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest during the period	4,370	6,409
Interest Paid in Kind on Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes	3,477	0
Supplemental disclosures of non-cash financing activities:
Interest payment and fees withheld from borrowings by lender	194	200
Convertible Notes
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities:
Amortization of discount and deferred cost for notes	989	861
Change in assets and liabilities:
Interest payable	(1,466)	(1,503)
Senior Secured Notes
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities:
Amortization of discount and deferred cost for notes	90	64
Change in assets and liabilities:
Interest payable	0	215
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from Secured Notes, net	0	30,000
15% Senior Secured Notes deferred cost	0	(633)
Red Falcon | Revolving Credit Facility
Cash flows from financing activities
Borrowings from revolving credit facility	0	5,061
Repayment of borrowings under revolving credit facility	0	(4,086)
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility
Cash flows from financing activities
Borrowings from revolving credit facility	21,090	12,419
Repayment of borrowings under revolving credit facility	$ 0	$ (2,509)
15.0% Senior Secured Notes | Senior Secured Notes
Stated interest rate	15.00%

Description of Business

Description of Business	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Description of Business	Description of Business Founded in December 2006 as a Florida limited liability company, Imperial Holdings, LLC converted into Imperial Holdings, Inc. on February 3, 2011, in connection with its initial public offering. Effective September 1, 2015, the Company changed its name to Emergent Capital, Inc. (with its subsidiary companies, the "Company" or "Emergent Capital"). Incorporated in Florida, Emergent Capital, through its subsidiary companies, owns a portfolio of 617 life insurance policies, also referred to as life settlements, with a fair value of $506.7 million and an aggregate death benefit of approximately $2.9 billion at March 31, 2017 . The Company primarily earns income on these policies from changes in their fair value and through death benefits. 615 of these policies, with an aggregate death benefit of approximately $2.9 billion and a fair value of approximately $506.0 million at March 31, 2017 are pledged under a $370.0 million , revolving credit agreement (the "White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility") entered into by the Company’s indirect subsidiary, White Eagle Asset Portfolio, LP ("White Eagle"). At March 31, 2017 , two policies owned by the Company, with an aggregate death benefit of approximately $12.0 million and a fair value of $708,000 were not pledged as collateral under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility.

Principles of Consolidation and

Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation	Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, all of its wholly-owned subsidiary companies and its special purpose entities, with the exception of Imperial Settlements Financing 2010, LLC ("ISF 2010"), an unconsolidated special purpose entity which is accounted for using the cost method of accounting. The special purpose entity has been created to fulfill specific objectives. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation, including income from services performed by subsidiary companies in connection with the Revolving Credit Facilities, as detailed herein. Notwithstanding consolidation, as referenced above, White Eagle is the owner of 615 policies, with an aggregate death benefit of approximately $2.9 billion and an estimated fair value of approximately $506.0 million at March 31, 2017 . The unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with the rules and regulations of the SEC for Form 10-Q and therefore do not include certain information, accounting policies, and footnote disclosures information or footnotes necessary for a complete presentation of financial position, results of operations and cash flows in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. However, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals), which, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial statements, have been included. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for future periods or for the year ended December 31, 2017 . These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in Emergent Capital's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 . Going Concern and Management's Plan The Company has incurred substantial losses and reported negative cash flows from operating activities of $8.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and $45.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. As of March 31, 2017 , we had approximately $18.0 million of cash and cash equivalents and certificates of deposit of $1.0 million ; of this amount, approximately $2.1 million is available to pay premiums on the two unencumbered policies and other overhead expenses, with approximately $15.9 million being restricted by the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility. These factors raise substantial doubt about the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern. The Company’s ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on its ability to meet its liquidity needs through a combination of the receipt of death benefits from life insurance policy maturities, borrowings under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility, strategic capital market raises, policy sales (subject to certain asset sale restrictions) and cash on hand. Based on management’s forecast, the Company projects that it currently has available sufficient cash to continue its operations for not more than approximately six weeks from the date of filing this Form 10-Q. See "Bridge Financing Loan" below for further information. The Company has entered into certain agreements as described below during the quarter ended March 31, 2017 for the purpose of recapitalizing the Company. No assurance can be given that the Company will be successful in its efforts to recapitalize the Company. On March 15, 2017, the Company entered into a series of separate Master Transaction Agreements (together, the "Agreements") by and between the Company, PJC Investments, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (" PJC "), and each Consenting Convertible Note Holder that is a party to one or more Agreements ("Consenting Holders") regarding a series of integrated transactions with the intent to effect a recapitalization of the Company (the "Transaction"), which includes an Amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation (the "Articles Amendment") to increase the number of authorized shares of the Company's common stock, $0.01 par value (the "Common Stock"), a Common Stock Purchase Agreement, a Convertible Note Exchange Offer, a New Convertible Note Indenture providing for the issuance of New Convertible Notes, a Senior Note Exchange Offer, a New Senior Note Indenture providing for the issuance of New Senior Notes, a Senior Note Purchase Agreement, a Warrant and certain other agreements and documents to be delivered in connection with the Transaction (each as defined in the Agreements, and together with the Agreements, the "Transaction Documents"). The Agreements and the transactions contemplated under the Agreements were unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of the Company on March 13, 2017. As of May 15, 2017, the Company had entered into Master Transaction Agreements with holders of more than 98% of the outstanding principal amount of the Convertible Notes. On April 7, 2017, the Company entered into a series of Amendments to the Master Transaction Agreements (the "Amendments"), which amend each Master Transaction Agreement made as of March 15, 2017, as amended to date and from time to time, by and between the Company, PJC and the Consenting Convertible Note Holders party to each Agreement. The modifications as a result of the Amendments are specified below. Under the Agreements, PJC and other parties agreed to certain undertakings, including: (i) PJC or its designee (the "Investor") purchasing up to 100% of the Company’s New Senior Notes from the Holders (as defined herein) pursuant to the Senior Note Purchase Agreement, (ii) PJC or the Investor purchasing $15.0 million in shares of Common Stock, pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, and (iii) issuance to PJC or the Investor of a warrant to purchase up to 40,000,000 shares, as amended, of Common Stock at an exercise price of $0.20 per share, as amended, for an aggregate purchase price of up to $8.0 million . Upon the closing of the proposed transactions, the Company’s Board of Directors will include four members representing PJC and one member representing the Consenting Convertible Note Holders. Subsequent Events Exchange Participation Agreement On or about April 7, 2017, the Company entered into an Exchange Participation Agreement (the "Participation Agreement") with holders (the "Consenting Senior Note Holders") representing 100% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Company's 15.0% Senior Secured Notes due 2018 (the " 15.0% Senior Secured Notes"). Pursuant to the Participation Agreement, on or before the date that is five business days after the Company launches the exchange offer (the "Senior Note Exchange Offer") offered to all holders of 15.0% Senior Secured Notes to exchange their 15.0% Senior Secured Notes for 8.5% Senior Notes due 2021 (the "New Senior Notes") issued under the indenture governing the New Senior Notes (the "New Senior Note Indenture"), each Consenting Senior Note Holder agreed to on or before the date that is five business days after the Company launches the Senior Note Exchange Offer (i) tender all of the 15.0% Senior Secured Notes it holds into the Senior Note Exchange Offer in exchange for New Senior Notes to be governed by the New Senior Note Indenture, and (ii) enter into a Senior Note purchase agreement with PJC or the Investor to sell 100% of the aggregate principal amount of the New Senior Notes that are to be issued to such Consenting Senior Note Holder at a price equal to 100% of the face amount of each New Senior Note purchased. Contemporaneously with the closing of all the transactions contemplated by the Agreements, including the closing of the Senior Note purchase agreement (the "Closing Date"), the Company agreed to pay each Consenting Senior Note Holder 5.0% of the face amount of the 15.0% Senior Secured Notes held by such Consenting Senior Note Holder, plus all accrued but unpaid interest under such 15.0% Senior Secured Notes through the Closing Date (the "Sale Participation Fee"). However, in the event the Company elects not to launch the Senior Note Exchange Offer, (i) each Consenting Senior Note Holder agreed to enter into a Senior Note purchase agreement with PJC or the Investor to sell at the closing of all the transactions contemplated by the Agreements 100% of the Senior Notes it holds at a price equal to the face amount of each Senior Note in lieu of participating in the Senior Note Exchange Offer and (ii) at the Closing Date, the Company agreed to pay the Sale Participation Fee to the Consenting Senior Note Holders. In such event the Company elects not to launch the Senior Note Exchange Offer, the Company has agreed to amend and restate the existing indenture governing the 15.0% Senior Secured Notes to conform in substantially identical terms to the terms of the New Senior Notes as set forth in the New Senior Note Indenture under the Agreements. To date, the Company has elected not to launch the Senior Note Exchange Offer. The Transaction is subject to certain conditions described in this Form 10-Q, including that the Company shall have obtained the requisite approval by the Company's shareholders of the Articles Amendment and that the requisite number of holders of the Company's senior secured notes and unsecured convertible notes shall have tendered their notes in connection with the applicable exchange offer as described herein, and certain customary closing conditions, including that each of the Transaction Documents shall have been executed and delivered to the other parties thereto. The Transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017, although the consummation of the Transaction is subject to multiple conditions and there can be no assurance that the Transaction will close on a timely basis or at all. Second Senior Supplemental Indenture On May 15, 2017, the Company as issuer, and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee, entered into a supplemental indenture (the "Second Senior Supplemental Indenture"), implementing a second amendment to the Indenture dated as of March 11, 2016, as amended (the "Senior Secured Indenture") governing the Company’s outstanding 15.0% Senior Secured Notes due 2018 (the " 15.0% Senior Secured Notes") following the Company’s receipt of requisite consents of the holders of the 15.0% Senior Secured Notes. The Second Senior Supplemental Indenture amends the definition of "Permitted Indebtedness" to include the Bridge Note, as defined below. Bridge Financing Loan On May 15, 2017, the Company entered into a $1.5 million Promissory Note with PJC Investments, LLC (the "Bridge Note"), to provide financing to fund the Company's continued operations. The Bridge Note matures on July 3, 2017. Under the Bridge Note, the Company may request an advance of funds, and PJC shall make an advance to the Company, provided that (i) the aggregate amount of outstanding advances shall not exceed $1.5 million and (ii) the Company’s proposed budgeted use of proceeds for such advance is reasonably acceptable to PJC. Advances under the Bridge Note bear interest at an annual rate of 15% . The Bridge Note includes certain default provisions customary to bridge financing facilities of this type which are subject to customary grace periods, including, among others, (i) defaults related to payment failures; (ii) failure to comply with covenants; (iii) any material misrepresentation of fact made or deemed made by or on behalf of the Company; (iv) failure by the Company to comply with any of its obligations under any Master Transaction Agreement; (v) defaults in payment of any indebtedness of the Company that continues after the applicable grace or cure period; (vi) bankruptcy and related events and; (vii) change of control without the prior written consent of PJC. Default interest accrues at an annual rate of 17% . The Bridge Note contains certain affirmative and negative covenants customary for bridge financing facilities of this type. In consideration for the Bridge Note and pursuant to a fee letter agreement by and between the Company and PJC dated May 15, 2017 (the "Fee Agreement"), the Company agreed to pay an additional termination fee equal to $1.5 million in the event that the Company becomes obligated to pay certain termination fees pursuant to certain termination provisions under the Master Transaction Agreements. The accompanying consolidated financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis and do not include any adjustments that might result from uncertainty about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Discontinued Operations On October 25, 2013, the Company sold substantially all of the assets comprising its structured settlement business for $12.0 million . As a result, the Company has discontinued segment reporting and classified its operating results of the structured settlement business, net of income taxes, as discontinued operations. The accompanying consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 , and the related consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 , and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements reflect the classification of its structured settlement business operating results, net of tax, as discontinued operations. See Note 7 , " Discontinued Operations ," for further information. Unless otherwise noted, the following notes refer to the Company’s continuing operations. Derivative Instrument In February 2014, the Company issued and sold $70.7 million in aggregate principal amount of 8.50% senior unsecured convertible notes due 2019 (the "Convertible Notes"). Prior to shareholder approval on June 5, 2014 to issue shares of common stock upon conversion of the Convertible Notes in excess of New York Stock Exchange limits for share issuances without shareholder approval, the Convertible Notes contained an embedded derivative feature. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 815, Derivatives and Hedging , derivative instruments are recognized as either assets or liabilities on the Company’s balance sheet and are measured at fair value with gains or losses recognized in earnings. Embedded derivatives that are not clearly and closely related to the host contract, such as the Convertible Notes, are bifurcated and recognized at fair value with changes in fair value recognized as either a gain or loss in earnings if they can be reliably measured. The Company determined the fair value of its embedded derivative based upon available market data and unobservable inputs using a Black Scholes pricing model. In accordance with ASC 815, upon receipt of shareholder approval on June 5, 2014, the Company reclassified the embedded derivative to equity along with unamortized transaction costs proportionate to the allocation of the initial debt discount and the principal amount of the Convertible Notes. The Convertible Notes are recorded at accreted value and will continue to be accreted up to the par value of the Convertible Notes at maturity. See Note 11 , " 8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes ." Foreign Currency The Company owns certain foreign subsidiary companies formed under the laws of Ireland, Bahamas and Bermuda. These foreign subsidiary companies utilize the U.S. dollar as their functional currency. The foreign subsidiary companies' financial statements are denominated in U.S. dollars and therefore, there are no translation gains and losses resulting from translating the financial statements at exchange rates other than the functional currency. Any gains and losses resulting from foreign currency transactions (transactions denominated in a currency other than the subsidiary companies' functional currency) are included in income. These gains and losses are immaterial to the Company’s financial statements. Use of Estimates The preparation of consolidated financial statements, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"), requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates and such differences could be material. Significant estimates made by management include income taxes, the valuation of life settlements, the valuation of the debt owing under the Revolving Credit Facilities, the valuation of equity awards and the valuation of the conversion derivative liability formerly embedded within the Convertible Notes.

Recent Accounting Pronouncement

Recent Accounting Pronouncements	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Accounting Changes and Error Corrections [Abstract]
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers," which converges the FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") standard on revenue recognition. Areas of revenue recognition that will be affected include, but are not limited to, transfer of control, variable consideration, allocation of transfer pricing, licenses, time value of money, contract costs and disclosures. In April 2015, the FASB voted to defer the effective date of the new revenue recognition standard by one year. As a result, the provisions of this ASU are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Following the deferral, in March 2016 the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-08, "Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net)" which aims to clarify the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations. The amendments in this Update do not change the core principle of the guidance in No. 2014-09. The effective date and transition requirements of ASU No. 2016-08 are the same as the effective date and transitions requirements of Update 2014-09. The Company does not expect that this guidance will have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15, "Disclosures of Uncertainties About an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern." The standard provides guidance around management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. The standard is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company adopted this guidance during the three months ended March 31, 2017 . Management has performed a going concern analysis of the Company's liquidity needs and the appropriate disclosures have been incorporated in the accompanying consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2017 . In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-06, "Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Contingent Put and Call Options in Debt Instruments." Topic 815 requires that embedded derivatives be separated from the host contract and accounted for separately as derivatives if certain criteria are met. One of those criteria is that the economic characteristics and risks of the embedded derivatives are not clearly and closely related to the economic characteristics and risks of the host contract (the "clearly and closely related" criterion). The guidance in this ASU intends to resolve the diversity in practice resulting from the application of the existing four-step decision sequence defined in ASC 815-15-25-42 to call (put) options that can accelerate the repayment of principal on a debt instrument if they meet the clearly and closely related criterion by clarifying that an entity is required to perform only the four-step decision sequence. The entity does not have to separately assess whether the event that triggers its ability to exercise the contingent option is itself indexed only to interest rates or credit risk. This ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption is permitted including adoption in an interim period, as long as any adjustment is reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes the interim period. We are currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-06 will have on our consolidated financial statements or related disclosures. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, "Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting" as part of its Simplification Initiative. The guidance simplifies several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. For public business entities, these amendments are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted including adoption in an interim period, as long as any adjustment is reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes the interim period. The Company adopted this guidance during the quarter ended March 31, 2017. The adoption of this ASU did not impact the consolidated financial statements or related disclosures. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, "Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments." This ASU provides specific guidance on eight cash flow classification issues that are either unclear or not included in current GAAP. These cash flow classification issues include debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs, settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments, contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims, proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, distributions received from equity method investees, beneficial interests in securitization transactions, and separately identifiable cash flows and application of the predominance principle. The amendments in this update are effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. If an entity early adopts the amendments in an interim period, any adjustments should be reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes that interim period. An entity that elects early adoption must adopt all of the amendments in the same period. We are currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-15 will have on our consolidated financial statements.

Consolidation of Variable Inter

Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities	Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities The Company evaluates its interests in variable interest entities ("VIEs") on an ongoing basis and consolidates those VIEs in which it has a controlling financial interest and is thus deemed to be the primary beneficiary. A controlling financial interest has both of the following characteristics: (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact its economic performance; and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE that could potentially be significant to it or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could be potentially significant to the VIE. The following table presents the consolidated assets and consolidated liabilities of VIEs for which the Company has concluded that it is the primary beneficiary and which are consolidated in the Company’s financial statements as of March 31, 2017 as well as non-consolidated VIEs for which the Company has determined it is not the primary beneficiary (in thousands): Primary Beneficiary Not Primary Beneficiary Consolidated VIEs Non-consolidated VIEs Assets Liabilities Total Assets Maximum Exposure To Loss March 31, 2017 $ 554,737 $ 290,883 $ 2,384 $ 2,384 December 31, 2016 511,792 257,678 2,384 $ 2,384 As of March 31, 2017 , 615 life insurance policies owned by White Eagle with an aggregate death benefit of approximately $2.9 billion and an estimated fair value of approximately $506.0 million were pledged as collateral under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility. In accordance with ASC 810, Consolidation , the Company consolidated White Eagle in its financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 , and the year ended December 31, 2016 .

Earnings Per Share

Earnings Per Share	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Earnings Per Share	Earnings Per Share As of March 31, 2017 and 2016 , there were 29,021,844 and 28,130,508 shares of common stock issued, respectively, and 28,413,844 and 27,522,508 shares of common stock outstanding, respectively. Outstanding shares as of March 31, 2017 and 2016 have been adjusted to reflect 608,000 treasury shares. Basic net income per share is computed by dividing the net earnings attributable to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing net income attributable to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding, increased to include the number of additional common shares that would have been outstanding if the dilutive potential common shares had been issued. Conversion or exercise of the potential common shares is not reflected in diluted earnings per share unless the effect is dilutive. The dilutive effect, if any, of outstanding common share equivalents is reflected in diluted earnings per share by application of the treasury stock method, as applicable. The following table reconciles actual basic and diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands except share and per share data). For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2017(1) 2016(2) Income (loss) per share: Numerator: Net income (loss) from continuing operations $ 1,884 $ (7,445 ) Net income (loss) from discontinued operations (189 ) (68 ) Net income (loss) $ 1,695 $ (7,513 ) Basic and diluted income (loss) per common share: Basic and diluted income (loss) from continuing operations $ 0.07 $ (0.27 ) Basic and diluted income (loss) from discontinued operations (0.01 ) — Basic and diluted income (loss) per share available to common shareholders $ 0.06 $ (0.27 ) Denominator: Basic and Diluted 28,148,632 27,481,249 (1) The computation of diluted EPS does not include 265,212 shares of restricted stock, 605,227 options, 6,240,521 warrants, and up to 11,266,011 shares of underlying common stock issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, as the effect of their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. (2) The computation of diluted EPS did not include 41,259 shares of restricted stock, 763,594 options, 6,240,521 warrants, up to 10,738,165 shares of underlying common stock issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Notes and 319,500 performance shares, as the effect of their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive.

Stock-based Compensation

Stock-based Compensation	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]
Stock-based Compensation	Stock-based Compensation On May 28, 2015, the Company amended and restated its 2010 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the "Omnibus Plan"). Awards under the Omnibus Plan may consist of incentive awards, stock options, stock appreciation rights, performance shares, performance units, and shares of common stock, restricted stock, restricted stock units or other stock-based awards as determined by the compensation committee of the Company's board of directors. The Omnibus Plan provides for an aggregate of 2,700,000 shares of common stock to be reserved for issuance under the Omnibus Plan, subject to adjustment as provided in the Omnibus Plan. Options As of December 31, 2016 , all options to purchase shares of common stock issued by the Company were fully vested. There was no stock-based compensation expense relating to stock options it granted under the Omnibus plan during the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. As of March 31, 2017 , options to purchase 605,227 shares of common stock were outstanding under the Omnibus Plan at a weighted average exercise price of $8.66 per share. The following table presents the activity of the Company’s outstanding stock options of common stock for the three months ended March 31, 2017 : Common Stock Options Number of Shares Weighted Average Exercise Price per Share Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term Aggregate Intrinsic Value Options outstanding, January 1, 2017 763,594 $ 8.52 2.47 $ — Options granted — — — Options exercised — — — Options forfeited (158,367 ) $ 8.00 — Options expired — — — Options outstanding, March 31, 2017 605,227 $ 8.66 2.14 $ — Exercisable at March 31, 2017 605,227 $ 8.66 2.14 Unvested at March 31, 2017 — — — $ — As of March 31, 2017 , all outstanding stock options had an exercise price above the fair market value of the common stock on that date. There are no remaining unamortized amounts to be recognized on these options. Restricted Stock The Company incurred additional stock-based compensation expense of approximately $139,000 and $60,100 relating to restricted stock granted to its board of directors and certain employees during the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. Under the Omnibus Plan, 41,259 shares of restricted stock granted to the Company’s directors during 2015 vested during the year ended December 31, 2016 . The fair value of the restricted stock was valued at approximately $255,000 based on the closing price of the Company’s shares on the day prior to the grant date. The Company incurred stock-based compensation expense of approximately $0 and $60,100 related to these 41,259 shares of restricted stock during the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2016 , the Company granted 65,212 shares of restricted stock to its directors under the Omnibus Plan, which are subject to a one year vesting period that commenced on the date of grant. The fair value of the unvested restricted stock was valued at approximately $255,000 based on the closing price of the Company’s shares on the date prior to the grant date. The Company incurred stock-based compensation expense of approximately $60,000 and $0 related to these 65,212 shares of restricted stock during the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2016 , the Company granted 200,000 shares of restricted stock units to certain employees under the Omnibus Plan, which are subject to a two year vesting period that commenced on the date of grant. The fair value of the unvested restricted stock was valued at approximately $674,000 based on the closing price of the Company’s shares on the day prior to the grant date. The Company incurred stock-based compensation expense of approximately $79,000 and $0 , related to these 200,000 shares of restricted stock during the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. The following table presents the activity of the Company’s unvested shares of restricted stock for the three months ended March 31, 2017 : Common Unvested Shares Number of Shares Outstanding January 1, 2017 265,212 Granted — Vested — Forfeited — Outstanding March 31, 2017 265,212 The aggregate intrinsic value of the awards of 65,212 and 200,000 is $19,000 and $60,000 , respectively, and the remaining weighted average life of these awards is 0.17 years and 1.23 years, respectively as of March 31, 2017 . Performance Shares During 2014, the Company awarded 323,500 target performance shares for restricted common stock to its directors and certain employees, of which 150,000 shares were subject to shareholder approval of the Omnibus Plan, which was obtained at the Company’s 2015 annual meeting on May 28, 2015. The issuance of the performance shares was contingent on the Company’s financial performance, as well as the performance of the Company’s common stock through June 30, 2016, with the actual shares to be issued ranging between 0 – 150% of the target performance shares. Given that the Company's financial performance goal was not achieved the remaining performance shares have been forfeited during the year ended December 31, 2016 . At March 31, 2016 , the Company determined that it was not probable that the performance conditions would be achieved and no related expense was recognized for the three months ended March 31, 2016 . Warrants On February 11, 2011, three shareholders received warrants that may be exercised for up to a total of 4,240,521 shares of the Company’s common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $14.51 per share. The warrants will expire seven years after the date of issuance and are exercisable as they are fully vested. At March 31, 2017 , all 4,240,521 warrants remained outstanding. In connection with a settlement of class action litigation arising in connection with the investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for District of New Hampshire ("USAO") into the Company's now legacy premium finance business (the "USAO Investigation"), the Company issued warrants to purchase 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s stock into an escrow account in April of 2014. The estimated fair value as of the measurement date of such warrants was $5.4 million , which is included in stockholders’ equity. The warrants were distributed in October 2014 and have a five -year term from the date they were distributed to the class participants with an exercise price of $10.75 . The Company is obligated to file a registration statement to register the shares underlying the warrants with the SEC if shares of the Company’s common stock have an average daily trading closing price of at least $8.50 per share for a 45 day period. The warrants will be exercisable upon effectiveness of the registration statement.

Discontinued Operations

Discontinued Operations	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]
Discontinued Operations	Discontinued Operations On October 25, 2013, the Company sold substantially all of the operating assets comprising its structured settlement business to Majestic Opco LLC pursuant to an Asset Purchase Agreement. No structured settlement receivables were sold and no on-balance sheet liabilities were transferred in connection with the sale. On August 18, 2015, the Company sold its remaining structured settlement receivables asset for $920,000 to the buyer of its operating assets. As a result of the sale of its structured settlements business, the Company reclassified its structured settlement business operating results as discontinued operations in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations for all periods presented. Operating results related to the Company’s discontinued structured settlement business are as follows: Three Months Ended 2017 2016 Total income $ 3 $ 3 Total expenses 192 71 Income (loss) before income taxes (189 ) (68 ) Income tax benefit — — Net income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes $ (189 ) $ (68 )

Life Settlements (Life Insuranc

Life Settlements (Life Insurance Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Investments, All Other Investments [Abstract]
Life Settlements (Life Insurance Policies)	Life Settlements (Life Insurance Policies) The Company accounts for policies it acquires using the fair value method in accordance with ASC 325-30-50 Investments-Other-Investment in Insurance Contracts . Under the fair value method, the Company recognizes the initial investment at the purchase price. For policies that were relinquished in satisfaction of premium finance loans at maturity, the initial investment is the loan carrying value. For policies purchased in the secondary or tertiary markets, the initial investment is the amount of cash outlay at the time of purchase. At each reporting period, the Company re-measures the investment at fair value in its entirety and recognizes changes in the Statements of Operations in the periods in which the changes occur. As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 , the Company owned 617 and 621 policies, respectively, with an aggregate estimated fair value of life settlements of $506.7 million and $498.4 million , respectively. The weighted average life expectancy calculated based on death benefit of insureds in the policies owned by the Company at March 31, 2017 was 8.9 years. The following table describes the Company’s life settlements as of March 31, 2017 (dollars in thousands): Remaining Life Expectancy (In Years)* Number of Life Settlement Contracts Estimated Fair Value Face Value 0 - 1 4 $ 16,367 $ 19,721 1 - 2 16 38,602 57,093 2 - 3 12 20,840 43,374 3 - 4 39 61,945 153,992 4 - 5 38 54,588 172,558 Thereafter 508 314,330 2,462,138 Total 617 $ 506,672 $ 2,908,876 *Based on remaining life expectancy at March 31, 2017 , as derived from reports of third party life expectancy providers, and does not indicate the timing of expected death benefits. See "Life Settlements" in Note 13, "Fair Value Measurements" of the accompanying consolidated financial statements. The weighted average life expectancy calculated based on death benefit of insureds in the policies owned by the Company at December 31, 2016 was 9.0 years. The following table describes the Company’s life settlements as of December 31, 2016 (dollars in thousands): Remaining Life Expectancy (In Years)* Number of Life Settlement Contracts Estimated Fair Value Face Value 0-1 4 $ 16,280 $ 19,497 1-2 14 35,019 52,093 2-3 14 31,300 57,274 3-4 31 44,096 114,449 4-5 40 57,792 172,157 Thereafter 518 313,913 2,531,041 Total 621 $ 498,400 $ 2,946,511 *Based on remaining life expectancy at December 31, 2016 , as derived from reports of third party life expectancy providers, and does not indicate the timing of expected death benefits. See "Life Settlements" in Note 13, "Fair Value Measurements" of the accompanying consolidated financial statements. Estimated premiums to be paid for each of the five succeeding fiscal years and thereafter to keep the life insurance policies in force as of March 31, 2017 , are as follows (in thousands): Remainder of 2017 $ 63,155 2018 85,648 2019 92,666 2020 96,339 2021 96,537 Thereafter 871,258 $ 1,305,603 The amount of $1.31 billion noted above represents the estimated total future premium payments required to keep the life insurance policies in force during the life expectancies of all the underlying insured lives and does not give effect to projected receipt of death benefits. The estimated total future premium payments could increase or decrease significantly to the extent that insurance carriers increase the cost of insurance on their issued policies or that actual mortalities of insureds differs from the estimated life expectancies.

White Eagle Revolving Credit Fa

White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving Credit Facility	65% N/A 100% —% —% 50-65% N/A 70% 16.5% 13.5% 35-50% N/A 55% 24.8% 20.3% 0-35% N/A 45% 30.3% 24.8% Provided that (i) if (a) the Company failed to maintain a cash interest coverage ratio of at least 2.0 :1 at any time during the immediately preceding calendar quarter or (b) the Company fails to take steps to improve its solvency in a manner acceptable to the required lenders (as determined in their sole and absolute discretion), then the cash flow sweep percentage to the lenders shall equal one-hundred percent ( 100% ) and (ii) if such distribution date occurs on or after December 29, 2025, then the cash flow sweep percentage shall equal one-hundred percent ( 100% ). As of March 31, 2017 , the cash interest coverage ratio was 1.76 :1 and the loan to value ratio was 59% , as calculated using the lenders' valuation. The cash interest coverage ratio is the ratio of (i) consolidated cash and cash equivalents maintained by the Company to (ii) the aggregate interest amounts that will be due and payable in cash on (x) the $30.0 million Senior Secured Notes due September 14, 2018 (and any notes issued by the Company or any of its Affiliates in connection with refinancing, replacing, substituting or any similar action with respect to any such notes) and the $74.2 million Convertible Notes due February 15, 2019 (and any notes issued by the Company or any of its Affiliates in connection with refinancing, replacing, substituting or any similar action with respect to any such notes) and (y) any additional indebtedness issued by the Company after December 29, 2016, in each case, during the twelve month period following such date of determination. See Note 11, " 8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes" and Note 12, " 15% Senior Secured Notes" to the accompanying consolidated financial statements. With respect to approximately 25% of the face amount of policies pledged as collateral under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility, White Eagle has agreed that if policy proceeds that are otherwise due are not paid by an insurance carrier, the foregoing distributions will be altered such that the lenders will receive any "catch-up" payments with respect to amounts that they would have received in the waterfall prior to distributions being made to White Eagle. During the continuance of events of default or unmatured events of default, the amounts from collections of policy proceeds that might otherwise be paid to White Eagle will instead be held in a designated account controlled by the lenders and may be applied to fund operating and third party expenses, interest and principal, "catch-up" payments or percentage payments that would go to the lenders as described above. Assuming no event of default, funds on account from policy proceeds shall be distributed in specified stages of priority. For the three months ended March 31, 2017 , approximately $2.5 million of proceeds received from the maturity of policies pledged under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility, were distributed through the waterfall in the following stages of priority (in thousands): Clause Amount Use of Proceeds First: $ 59 Custodian and Securities Intermediary Second: — White Eagle - Ongoing Maintenance Cost Reimbursable Third: — Administrative Agent - Protective Advances Fourth: 10 Administrative Agent - Administrative Agent Fee and Legal Expense Reimbursement Fifth: 2,412 Administrative Agent - Accrued and Unpaid Interest Sixth: — Administrative Agent - Required Amortization Seventh: — Administrative Agent - Amortization Shortfall Eighth: — Administrative Agent - Participation Interest Ninth: — Reserved - $0 Tenth: — Administrative Agent Aggregate Unpaid Participation Interest Eleventh: — Administrative Agent - Remaining Available Amount After Clause First to Tenth Twelfth: — Wilmington Trust - Custodian and Securities Intermediary - Unpaid Fees Thirteenth: — Borrower - Any Remaining Available Amount After Clause First to Twelfth Total Distributions $ 2,481 The below is a reconciliation of proceeds collected by the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility and distributed through the waterfall as shown above (in thousands): Face value collected in 2016 and distributed in 2017 $ 2,480 Face value collected in 2017 10,000 Other collections* 37 Total waterfall collection $ 12,517 Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017 (2,481 ) Total to be distributed subsequent to the quarter ended March 31, 2017 $ 10,036 *Includes refund of premiums and interest earned on maturity proceeds Use of Proceeds. Generally, ongoing advances may be made for paying premiums on the life insurance policies pledged as collateral and to pay the fees of service providers. Effective with the White Eagle Amendment on November 9, 2015, ongoing advances may no longer be used to pay interest, which will now be paid by White Eagle if there is not otherwise sufficient amounts available from policy proceeds to be distributed to pay interest expense pursuant to the waterfall described above in "Amortization and Distributions." Subsequent advances and the use of proceeds from those advances are at the discretion of the lenders. For the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 , approximately $20.8 million and $12.2 million was drawn on the facility for premium payments and $525,000 and $414,000 in fees to service providers, respectively. Interest. Borrowings under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at a rate equal to LIBOR or, if LIBOR is unavailable, the base rate, in each case plus an applicable margin of 4.50% , which was increased from 4.00% pursuant to the November 9, 2015 amendment, and subject to a rate floor component equal to the greater of LIBOR (or the applicable rate) and 1.5% . The base rate under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility equals the sum of (i) the weighted average of the interest rates on overnight federal funds transactions or, if unavailable, the average of three federal funds quotations received by the Agent plus 0.75% and (ii) 0.5% . Based on the loan agreement, the LIBOR portion of the interest rate will re-adjust annually, once the floor has exceeded 1.5% . The applicable rate will be dependent on the rate at the last business day of the preceding calendar year. On December 30, 2016, the LIBOR floor increased from 1.5% to 1.69% . The effective rate at March 31, 2017 and 2016 was 6.19% and 6.00% , respectively. Interest paid during the period is recorded in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Accrued interest is reflected as a component of the estimated fair value of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility debt. Effective with the White Eagle Amendment on November 9, 2015, interest for the applicable margin of 4.50% is no longer withheld from borrowings by the lender. Total interest expense on the facility during the three months ended March 31, 2017 was $3.2 million which includes $2.4 million paid through the waterfall distribution from maturity proceeds and $782,000 paid directly by White Eagle. Total interest expense for the three months ended March 31, 2016 was $2.4 million which was paid by White Eagle through the waterfall distribution from maturity proceeds. Maturity. Effective with the White Eagle Second Amendment, the term of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility expires December 31, 2031 , which is also the scheduled commitment termination date (though the lenders’ commitments to fund borrowings may terminate earlier in an event of default). The lenders’ interests in and rights to a portion of the proceeds of the policies does not terminate with the repayment of the principal borrowed and interest accrued thereon, the termination of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility or expiration of the lenders’ commitments. Covenants/Events of Defaults . The White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility contains covenants and events of default that are customary for asset-based credit agreements of this type, but also include cross defaults under the servicing, account control, contribution and pledge agreements entered into in connection with the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility (including in relation to breaches by third parties thereunder), certain changes in law, changes in control of or insolvency or bankruptcy of the Company and relevant subsidiary companies and performance of certain obligations by certain relevant subsidiary companies, White Eagle and third parties. Effective with the White Eagle Second Amendment, and as described above in "Amortization and Distributions", the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility contains a financial covenant requiring White Eagle to maintain a cash interest coverage ratio of at least 1.75 :1 commencing after June 30, 2019. Failure to maintain this ratio for 60 consecutive days after June 30, 2019 constitutes an event of default. There is no interest coverage ratio requirement that would result in an event of default prior to this date; however, any failure to maintain a cash interest coverage ratio of at least 2.0 :1 does impact the cash flow sweep percentage for proceeds distributed through the waterfall. As of March 31, 2017 , the cash interest coverage ratio was 1.76 :1. The White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility also contains certain tests relating to asset maintenance, performance and valuation, the satisfaction of which will be determined by the lenders with a high degree of discretion. Remedies. The White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility and ancillary transaction documents afford the lenders a high degree of discretion in their selection and implementation of remedies, including strict foreclosure, in relation to any event of default, including a high degree of discretion in determining whether to foreclose upon and liquidate all or any pledged policies, the interests in White Eagle, and the manner of any such liquidation. White Eagle has limited ability to cure events of default through the sale of policies or the procurement of replacement financing. The Company elected to account for the debt under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility in accordance with ASC 820, which includes the 45% interest in policy proceeds to the lender, using the fair value method. The fair value of the debt is the amount the Company would have to pay to transfer the debt to a market participant in an orderly transaction. The Company calculated the fair value of the debt using a discounted cash flow model taking into account the stated interest rate of the credit facility and probabilistic cash flows from the pledged policies. Considerable judgment is required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. Accordingly, the Company’s estimates are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that the Company, or holders of the instruments, could realize in a current market exchange. The most significant assumptions are the estimates of life expectancy of the insured and the discount rate. The use of different assumptions and/or estimation methodologies could have a material effect on the estimated fair values. At March 31, 2017 , the fair value of the outstanding debt was $290.2 million and the borrowing base was approximately $287.4 million , which includes $282.7 million of outstanding principal. Approximately $4.7 million was available to borrow under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility. There are no scheduled repayments of principal prior to maturity although payments are due upon the next distribution date following the receipt of death benefits and distributed pursuant to the waterfall as described above. At March 31, 2017 , approximately $10.0 million included in restricted cash was on account with White Eagle awaiting distribution through the waterfall." id="sjs-B5">White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility Effective April 29, 2013 , White Eagle entered into a 15 -year revolving credit agreement with LNV Corporation, as initial lender, Imperial Finance & Trading, LLC, as servicer and portfolio manager and CLMG Corp., as administrative agent. Proceeds from the initial advance under the facility were used, in part, to retire a bridge facility and to fund a payment to the lender protection insurance provider to release subrogation rights in certain of the policies pledged as collateral for the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility. On May 16, 2014, White Eagle Asset Portfolio, LLC converted from a Delaware limited liability company to White Eagle Asset Portfolio, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the "Conversion") and all of its ownership interests were transferred to an indirect, wholly-owned Irish subsidiary of the Company. In connection with the Conversion, the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility was amended and restated among White Eagle, as borrower, Imperial Finance and Trading, LLC, as the initial servicer, the initial portfolio manager and guarantor, Lamington Road Bermuda Ltd., as portfolio manager, LNV Corporation, as initial lender, the other financial institutions party thereto as lenders, and CLMG Corp., as administrative agent for the lenders. The White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility was amended on November 9, 2015. As amended, the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility may provide earlier participation in the portfolio cash flows if certain loan to value ("LTV") ratios are achieved. Additionally, the maximum facility limit was reduced from $300.0 million to $250.0 million , and the interest rate under the facility was increased by 50 basis point s. On December 29, 2016, White Eagle entered into a Second Amendment to the Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement ("White Eagle Second Amendment") and on January 31, 2017, as required by the terms of the White Eagle Amendment, White Eagle executed the Second Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement, dated January 31, 2017, which consolidated into a single document the amendments evidenced by the White Eagle Second Amendment and all previous amendments. As amended, the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility adjusted the LTV ratios which directed cash flow participation and became subjected to achieving certain financial metrics, as more fully described below under "Amortization & Distributions." Pursuant to the White Eagle Second Amendment, 190 life settlement policies purchased from wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company were pledged as additional collateral under the facility for an additional policy advance of approximately $71.1 million . The maximum facility limit was increased to $370.0 million and the term of the facility was extended to December 31, 2031 . Additional loan terms and amendment changes are more fully described in the sections that follow. General & Security . The White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility provides for an asset-based revolving credit facility backed by White Eagle’s portfolio of life insurance policies with an aggregate lender commitment of up to $370.0 million , subject to borrowing base availability. 615 life insurance policies with an aggregate death benefit of approximately $2.9 billion and an estimated fair value of approximately $506.0 million are pledged as collateral under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility at March 31, 2017 . In addition, the equity interests in White Eagle have been pledged under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility. Borrowing Base. Borrowing availability under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility is subject to a borrowing base, which at any time is equal to the lesser of (A) the sum of all of the following amounts that have been funded or are to be funded through the next distribution date (i) the initial advance and all additional advances to acquire additional pledged policies that are not for ongoing maintenance advances, plus (ii) 100% of the sum of the ongoing maintenance costs, plus (iii) 100% of accrued and unpaid interest on borrowings (excluding the rate floor portion described below), plus (iv) 100% of any other fees and expenses funded and to be funded as approved by the required lenders, less (v) any required payments of principal and interest previously distributed and to be distributed through the next distribution date; (B) 75% of the valuation of the policies pledged as collateral as determined by the lenders; (C) 50% of the aggregate face amount of the policies pledged as collateral (excluding certain specified life insurance policies); and (D) the then applicable facility limit. At March 31, 2017 , $87.3 million was undrawn and $4.7 million was available to borrow under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility. The amount available to borrow is calculated based on and limited to the premium payments and expenses if any, that are due as of the calculation date. In essence, what is available, is what is required to pay expenses and keep the policies in force as of the calculation date. Amortization & Distributions. Proceeds from the maturity of the policies pledged as collateral under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility are distributed pursuant to a waterfall. After distributions for premium payments, fees to service providers and payments of interest, a percentage of the collections from policy proceeds are to be paid to the Company, which will vary depending on the then LTV ratio as illustrated below where the valuation is determined by the lenders: LTV Premiums, Interest & Other Fees Principal Distribution to White Eagle - 55% Lender Participation - 45% N/A 100% —% —% —% >65% N/A 100% —% —% 50-65% N/A 70% 16.5% 13.5% 35-50% N/A 55% 24.8% 20.3% 0-35% N/A 45% 30.3% 24.8% Provided that (i) if (a) the Company failed to maintain a cash interest coverage ratio of at least 2.0 :1 at any time during the immediately preceding calendar quarter or (b) the Company fails to take steps to improve its solvency in a manner acceptable to the required lenders (as determined in their sole and absolute discretion), then the cash flow sweep percentage to the lenders shall equal one-hundred percent ( 100% ) and (ii) if such distribution date occurs on or after December 29, 2025, then the cash flow sweep percentage shall equal one-hundred percent ( 100% ). As of March 31, 2017 , the cash interest coverage ratio was 1.76 :1 and the loan to value ratio was 59% , as calculated using the lenders' valuation. The cash interest coverage ratio is the ratio of (i) consolidated cash and cash equivalents maintained by the Company to (ii) the aggregate interest amounts that will be due and payable in cash on (x) the $30.0 million Senior Secured Notes due September 14, 2018 (and any notes issued by the Company or any of its Affiliates in connection with refinancing, replacing, substituting or any similar action with respect to any such notes) and the $74.2 million Convertible Notes due February 15, 2019 (and any notes issued by the Company or any of its Affiliates in connection with refinancing, replacing, substituting or any similar action with respect to any such notes) and (y) any additional indebtedness issued by the Company after December 29, 2016, in each case, during the twelve month period following such date of determination. See Note 11, " 8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes" and Note 12, " 15% Senior Secured Notes" to the accompanying consolidated financial statements. With respect to approximately 25% of the face amount of policies pledged as collateral under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility, White Eagle has agreed that if policy proceeds that are otherwise due are not paid by an insurance carrier, the foregoing distributions will be altered such that the lenders will receive any "catch-up" payments with respect to amounts that they would have received in the waterfall prior to distributions being made to White Eagle. During the continuance of events of default or unmatured events of default, the amounts from collections of policy proceeds that might otherwise be paid to White Eagle will instead be held in a designated account controlled by the lenders and may be applied to fund operating and third party expenses, interest and principal, "catch-up" payments or percentage payments that would go to the lenders as described above. Assuming no event of default, funds on account from policy proceeds shall be distributed in specified stages of priority. For the three months ended March 31, 2017 , approximately $2.5 million of proceeds received from the maturity of policies pledged under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility, were distributed through the waterfall in the following stages of priority (in thousands): Clause Amount Use of Proceeds First: $ 59 Custodian and Securities Intermediary Second: — White Eagle - Ongoing Maintenance Cost Reimbursable Third: — Administrative Agent - Protective Advances Fourth: 10 Administrative Agent - Administrative Agent Fee and Legal Expense Reimbursement Fifth: 2,412 Administrative Agent - Accrued and Unpaid Interest Sixth: — Administrative Agent - Required Amortization Seventh: — Administrative Agent - Amortization Shortfall Eighth: — Administrative Agent - Participation Interest Ninth: — Reserved - $0 Tenth: — Administrative Agent Aggregate Unpaid Participation Interest Eleventh: — Administrative Agent - Remaining Available Amount After Clause First to Tenth Twelfth: — Wilmington Trust - Custodian and Securities Intermediary - Unpaid Fees Thirteenth: — Borrower - Any Remaining Available Amount After Clause First to Twelfth Total Distributions $ 2,481 The below is a reconciliation of proceeds collected by the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility and distributed through the waterfall as shown above (in thousands): Face value collected in 2016 and distributed in 2017 $ 2,480 Face value collected in 2017 10,000 Other collections* 37 Total waterfall collection $ 12,517 Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017 (2,481 ) Total to be distributed subsequent to the quarter ended March 31, 2017 $ 10,036 *Includes refund of premiums and interest earned on maturity proceeds Use of Proceeds. Generally, ongoing advances may be made for paying premiums on the life insurance policies pledged as collateral and to pay the fees of service providers. Effective with the White Eagle Amendment on November 9, 2015, ongoing advances may no longer be used to pay interest, which will now be paid by White Eagle if there is not otherwise sufficient amounts available from policy proceeds to be distributed to pay interest expense pursuant to the waterfall described above in "Amortization and Distributions." Subsequent advances and the use of proceeds from those advances are at the discretion of the lenders. For the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 , approximately $20.8 million and $12.2 million was drawn on the facility for premium payments and $525,000 and $414,000 in fees to service providers, respectively. Interest. Borrowings under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at a rate equal to LIBOR or, if LIBOR is unavailable, the base rate, in each case plus an applicable margin of 4.50% , which was increased from 4.00% pursuant to the November 9, 2015 amendment, and subject to a rate floor component equal to the greater of LIBOR (or the applicable rate) and 1.5% . The base rate under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility equals the sum of (i) the weighted average of the interest rates on overnight federal funds transactions or, if unavailable, the average of three federal funds quotations received by the Agent plus 0.75% and (ii) 0.5% . Based on the loan agreement, the LIBOR portion of the interest rate will re-adjust annually, once the floor has exceeded 1.5% . The applicable rate will be dependent on the rate at the last business day of the preceding calendar year. On December 30, 2016, the LIBOR floor increased from 1.5% to 1.69% . The effective rate at March 31, 2017 and 2016 was 6.19% and 6.00% , respectively. Interest paid during the period is recorded in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Accrued interest is reflected as a component of the estimated fair value of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility debt. Effective with the White Eagle Amendment on November 9, 2015, interest for the applicable margin of 4.50% is no longer withheld from borrowings by the lender. Total interest expense on the facility during the three months ended March 31, 2017 was $3.2 million which includes $2.4 million paid through the waterfall distribution from maturity proceeds and $782,000 paid directly by White Eagle. Total interest expense for the three months ended March 31, 2016 was $2.4 million which was paid by White Eagle through the waterfall distribution from maturity proceeds. Maturity. Effective with the White Eagle Second Amendment, the term of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility expires December 31, 2031 , which is also the scheduled commitment termination date (though the lenders’ commitments to fund borrowings may terminate earlier in an event of default). The lenders’ interests in and rights to a portion of the proceeds of the policies does not terminate with the repayment of the principal borrowed and interest accrued thereon, the termination of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility or expiration of the lenders’ commitments. Covenants/Events of Defaults . The White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility contains covenants and events of default that are customary for asset-based credit agreements of this type, but also include cross defaults under the servicing, account control, contribution and pledge agreements entered into in connection with the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility (including in relation to breaches by third parties thereunder), certain changes in law, changes in control of or insolvency or bankruptcy of the Company and relevant subsidiary companies and performance of certain obligations by certain relevant subsidiary companies, White Eagle and third parties. Effective with the White Eagle Second Amendment, and as described above in "Amortization and Distributions", the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility contains a financial covenant requiring White Eagle to maintain a cash interest coverage ratio of at least 1.75 :1 commencing after June 30, 2019. Failure to maintain this ratio for 60 consecutive days after June 30, 2019 constitutes an event of default. There is no interest coverage ratio requirement that would result in an event of default prior to this date; however, any failure to maintain a cash interest coverage ratio of at least 2.0 :1 does impact the cash flow sweep percentage for proceeds distributed through the waterfall. As of March 31, 2017 , the cash interest coverage ratio was 1.76 :1. The White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility also contains certain tests relating to asset maintenance, performance and valuation, the satisfaction of which will be determined by the lenders with a high degree of discretion. Remedies. The White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility and ancillary transaction documents afford the lenders a high degree of discretion in their selection and implementation of remedies, including strict foreclosure, in relation to any event of default, including a high degree of discretion in determining whether to foreclose upon and liquidate all or any pledged policies, the interests in White Eagle, and the manner of any such liquidation. White Eagle has limited ability to cure events of default through the sale of policies or the procurement of replacement financing. The Company elected to account for the debt under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility in accordance with ASC 820, which includes the 45% interest in policy proceeds to the lender, using the fair value method. The fair value of the debt is the amount the Company would have to pay to transfer the debt to a market participant in an orderly transaction. The Company calculated the fair value of the debt using a discounted cash flow model taking into account the stated interest rate of the credit facility and probabilistic cash flows from the pledged policies. Considerable judgment is required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. Accordingly, the Company’s estimates are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that the Company, or holders of the instruments, could realize in a current market exchange. The most significant assumptions are the estimates of life expectancy of the insured and the discount rate. The use of different assumptions and/or estimation methodologies could have a material effect on the estimated fair values. At March 31, 2017 , the fair value of the outstanding debt was $290.2 million and the borrowing base was approximately $287.4 million , which includes $282.7 million of outstanding principal. Approximately $4.7 million was available to borrow under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility. There are no scheduled repayments of principal prior to maturity although payments are due upon the next distribution date following the receipt of death benefits and distributed pursuant to the waterfall as described above. At March 31, 2017 , approximately $10.0 million included in restricted cash was on account with White Eagle awaiting distribution through the waterfall.

Red Falcon Revolving Credit Fac

Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Red Falcon Trust | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving Credit Facility	Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility Effective July 16, 2015 , Red Falcon Trust ("Red Falcon"), a Delaware statutory trust formed by Blue Heron Designated Activity Company ("Blue Heron"), a wholly-owned Irish subsidiary of the Company, entered into a revolving loan and security agreement (together with its ancillary documents, the "Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility," and together with the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility, the "Revolving Credit Facilities") with LNV Corporation, as initial lender, the other lenders party thereto from time to time, Imperial Finance & Trading, LLC, as guarantor, Blue Heron as portfolio administrator and CLMG Corp., as administrative agent. On July 15, 2016, the Company amended its Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility (the "Red Falcon Amendment"). Pursuant to the amendment, six additional policies and additional portions of 20 policies that were previously pledged in part as collateral under the initial credit agreement were pledged for an additional policy advance. Amounts advanced to Red Falcon following effectiveness of the amendment to the credit agreement were approximately $3.0 million . On December 29, 2016 , the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility was terminated (the "Facility Termination"). The policies pledged under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility were sold to White Eagle, a subsidiary of the Company, in exchange for a distribution of cash totaling $65.1 million , which was used to repay all outstanding principal and interest due under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility. The significant terms in effect through the termination date are included below. General & Security . The Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility provided for a revolving credit facility backed by Red Falcon’s portfolio of life insurance policies with an initial aggregate lender commitment of up to $110.0 million , subject to borrowing base availability. As of March 31, 2017 , all life insurance policies previously owned by Red Falcon and pledged as collateral under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility were sold to White Eagle, an affiliate of the Company. See Note 9, "White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility," to the accompanying consolidated financial statements for further information regarding the Company's portfolio subsequent to the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility termination. Borrowing Base & Availability . Revolving credit borrowings were permitted for a five -year period with the loans under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility maturing on July 15, 2022. Borrowing availability under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility was subject to a borrowing base, which at any time was equal to the lesser of (A) the sum of all of the following amounts that were funded or were to be funded through the next distribution date (i) the initial advance and all additional advances in respect of newly pledged policies that were not for ongoing maintenance advances, plus (ii) 100% of the sum of the ongoing maintenance costs, less (iii) any required amortization payments previously distributed and which were to be distributed through the next distribution date; (B) 60% of the valuation of the policies pledged as collateral as determined by the lenders; (C) 45% of the aggregate face amount of the policies pledged as collateral; and (D) $110.0 million . All outstanding principal and interest was repaid in connection with the Facility Termination as of March 31, 2017 . Amortization & Distributions. Proceeds from the policies pledged as collateral under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility were distributed pursuant to a waterfall with, subject to yield maintenance provisions, 5% of policy proceeds directed to the lenders. Thereafter proceeds were directed to pay fees to service providers and premiums with any remaining proceeds directed to pay outstanding interest and required amortization of 8% per annum on the greater of the then outstanding balance of the loan or the initial advance. Generally, after payment of interest and required amortization, a percentage of the collections from policy proceeds were to be paid to the lenders, which will varied depending on the then loan to value ratio ("LTV") as follows: (1) if the LTV was equal to or greater than 50% , all remaining proceeds were to be directed to the lenders to repay the then outstanding principal balance; (2) if the LTV was less than 50% but greater than or equal to 25% , 65% of the remaining proceeds were to be directed to the lenders to repay the then outstanding principal balance; or (3) if the LTV was less than 25% , 35% of the remaining proceeds were to be directed to the lenders to repay the then outstanding principal balance, in each case, with remaining proceeds directed to Red Falcon. To the extent there were not sufficient remaining proceeds in the waterfall to satisfy the amount of required interest and amortization then due, Red Falcon would have had to pay any such shortfall amount. Initial Advance and Use of Proceeds. Amounts advanced to Red Falcon following effectiveness of the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility were approximately $54.0 million with certain of the proceeds used to pay transaction expenses and to purchase the policies pledged as collateral under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility from certain affiliates of the Company, who then made a distribution to the Company which was used to redeem the Company's 12.875% Secured Notes. Generally, ongoing advances may have been made for paying premiums on the life insurance policies pledged as collateral, and to pay the fees of service providers. Subsequent advances in respect of newly pledged policies are at the discretion of the lenders. Interest. Borrowings under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility bore interest at a rate equal to LIBOR or, if LIBOR was unavailable, the base rate, in each case plus an applicable margin of 4.50% and subject to a rate floor of 1.0% . The base rate under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility equaled the sum of (i) the weighted average of the interest rates on overnight federal funds transactions or, if unavailable, the average of three federal funds quotations received by the Agent plus 0.75% and (ii) 0.5% . Based on the loan agreement, the LIBOR portion of the interest rate readjusted monthly, once the floor had exceeded 1.0% . The applicable rate was dependent on the rate at the last business day of the immediately preceding calendar month. Interest expense paid during the period is recorded in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Interest expense on the facility was $1.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016 . Maturity and Early Extinguishment. The original term of the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility expired July 15, 2022 . On December 29, 2016 Red Falcon terminated the facility and repaid all outstanding principal and interest in the amount of $65.1 million . Covenants/Events of Defaults . The Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility contained covenants and events of default, including those that are customary for asset-based credit facilities of this type and including cross defaults under the servicing, portfolio management and sales agreements entered into in connection with the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility, changes in control of or insolvency or bankruptcy of the Company and relevant subsidiary companies and performance of certain obligations by certain relevant subsidiary companies, Red Falcon and third parties. The Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility did not contain any financial covenants, but did contain certain tests relating to asset maintenance, performance and valuation with determinations as to the satisfaction of such tests involving determinations made by the lenders with a high degree of discretion. The Company elected to account for the debt under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility using the fair value method in accordance with ASC 820. The fair value of the debt is the amount the Company would have to pay to transfer the debt to a market participant in an orderly transaction. The Company calculated the fair value of the debt using a discounted cash flow model taking into account the stated interest rate of the credit facility and probabilistic cash flows from the pledged policies. Considerable judgment is required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. Accordingly, the Company’s estimates are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that the Company, or holders of the instruments, could realize in a current market exchange. The most significant assumptions are the estimates of life expectancy of the insured and the discount rate. The use of different assumptions and/or estimation methodologies could have had a material effect on the estimated fair values. At March 31, 2017 , there was no outstanding principal and interest as the Red Falcon Facility had been fully repaid on December 29, 2016 .

8.50% Senior Unsecured Converti

8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior Notes	8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes In February 2014, the Company issued $70.7 million in an aggregate principal amount of 8.50% senior unsecured convertible notes due 2019 (the "Convertible Notes"). The Convertible Notes were issued pursuant to an indenture dated February 21, 2014 , between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee (the "Convertible Note Indenture"). Two members of the Company's Board of Directors, Messrs. Dakos and Goldstein, are affiliated with Bulldog Investors, LLC, who purchased $9.2 million of the Convertible Notes. The Convertible Notes are general senior unsecured obligations and rank equally in right of payment with all of the Company's other existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness. The Convertible Notes are effectively subordinate to all of the Company's secured indebtedness to the extent of the value of the assets collateralizing such indebtedness. The Convertible Notes are not guaranteed by the Company's subsidiaries. The maturity date of the Convertible Notes is February 15, 2019 . The Convertible Notes accrue interest at the rate of 8.50% per annum on the principal amount of the Convertible Notes, payable semi-annually in arrears on August 15 and February 15 of each year . The Convertible Notes are convertible into shares of common stock at any time prior to the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date. Initially, the Convertible Notes were convertible into shares of common stock at a conversion rate of 147.9290 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Notes (equivalent to a conversion price of $6.76 per share of common stock). In the second quarter of 2015, the conversion rate was adjusted to 151.7912 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Notes (equivalent to a conversion price of $6.59 per share of common stock) in connection with an anti-dilution adjustment triggered by a rights offering that resulted in the issuance of 6,688,433 shares of the Company’s common stock. The Convertible Notes were not redeemable prior to February 15, 2017 . On and after such date, and prior to the maturity date, the Company may redeem for cash all, but not less than all, of the Convertible Notes if the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock equals or exceeds 130% of the applicable conversion price for at least 20 trading days during the 30 consecutive trading day period ending on the trading day immediately prior to the date the Company delivers notice of the redemption. The redemption price will be equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes, plus any accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the redemption date. In addition, if the Company calls the Convertible Notes for redemption, a make-whole fundamental charge will be deemed to occur. As a result, the Company will, in certain circumstances, increase the conversion rate by a number of additional shares of common stock for holders who convert their notes prior to the redemption date. The Company determined that an embedded conversion option existed in the Convertible Notes that was required to be separately accounted for as a derivative under ASC 815 which required the Company to bifurcate the embedded conversion option, record it as a liability at fair value and record a debt discount by an equal amount. Upon receipt of shareholder approval to issue shares of common stock upon conversion of the Convertible Notes in an amount that exceeded applicable New York Stock Exchange limits for issuances without shareholder approval, the Company reclassified the embedded conversion derivative liability to equity. The Convertible Notes are recorded at accreted value and will continue to be accreted up to the par value of the Convertible Notes at maturity. On February 14, 2017, the Company solicited consents (the "Consent Solicitation") to issue additional 8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes (the "Additional Convertible Notes") in lieu of a cash payment of interest on February 15, 2017 (the "2017 Interest Payment Date") to holders of the Convertible Notes. On March 14, 2017, the Company issued an additional $3.5 million in Additional Convertible Notes following the Company’s receipt of the requisite consents of the holders of the Convertible Notes of approximately 98% of the aggregate principal amount of Convertible Notes (the "Consenting Holders"), pursuant to the Consent Solicitation, whereby each Consenting Holder agreed to accept Additional Convertible Notes in lieu of a cash payment of interest on the Convertible Notes due on the 2017 Interest Payment Date. All Additional Convertible Notes issued by the Company to Consenting Holders were issued under the Convertible Note Indenture and such Additional Convertible Notes have identical terms to the existing Convertible Notes. Interest on the Additional Convertible Notes will accrue from February 15, 2017. The issue of the Additional Convertible Notes increased the outstanding principal amount of the Convertible Notes to $74.2 million at March 31, 2017 . On March 15, 2017, the Company entered into a series of separate Master Transaction Agreements (the "Agreements") by and between the Company, PJC Investments, LLC, a Texas limited liability company ("PJC") and each such Consenting Convertible Note Holder that is a party to such Agreement ("Consenting Holders") regarding a series of integrated transactions with the intent to effect a recapitalization of the Company (the "Transaction") which includes, among other transactions, a Convertible Note Exchange Offer and a New Convertible Note Indenture providing for the issuance of New Convertible Notes to be delivered in connection with the Transaction (each as defined in the Agreements). As part of the Transaction, on April 18, 2017 the Company launched an exchange offer to the existing holders of its outstanding 8.5% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes due 2019 (the "Existing Convertible Notes") for 5% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes due 2023 (the "New Convertible Notes"). At least 98% of the holders of the Existing Convertible Notes must tender in the exchange offer as a condition to closing the Transaction. At or contemporaneously with the closing of the Transaction, the Company will cause to be issued the New Convertible Notes in an aggregate amount not to exceed approximately $75.0 million , pursuant to a Convertible Note Indenture between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee (the "New Convertible Indenture"). The New Convertible Notes will be unsecured senior obligations of the Company and will mature six years from the Closing. The New Convertible Notes will bear interest at a rate of 5.00% per annum from the issue date, payable semi-annually. See Note 18 "Subsequent Events," of the accompanying financial statements for additional information. As of March 31, 2017 , the carrying value of the Convertible Notes was $65.0 million , net of unamortized debt discounts and origination costs of $8.0 million and $1.2 million , respectively. These are being amortized over the remaining life of the Convertible Notes using the effective interest method. During the three months ended March 31, 2017 , the Company recorded $3.1 million of interest expense on the Convertible Notes, including $2.1 million , $862,000 and $128,000 from interest, amortizing debt discounts and origination costs, respectively, compared to interest expense of $2.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2016 , which included $1.5 million , $750,000 and $111,000 from interest, amortizing debt discounts and origination costs, respectively. Interest for the three months ended March 31, 2017 was higher due to approximately $522,000 of additional interest paid in kind to note holders.

15.00% Senior Secured Notes

15.00% Senior Secured Notes	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
15.0% Senior Secured Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior Notes	15.00% Senior Secured Notes On March 11, 2016, the Company, as issuer, entered into an indenture with Wilmington Trust Company, as indenture trustee (the "Senior Secured Indenture"). The Senior Secured Indenture provides for the issuance of up to $30.0 million in senior secured notes (the " 15% Senior Secured Notes"), of which approximately $21.2 million were issued on the Initial Closing Date with an additional $8.8 million issued on March 24, 2016. The 15% Senior Secured Notes were purchased in private transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, under the note purchase agreements with certain accredited investors and/or non U.S. persons, including certain members of the Company's board of directors, management and their affiliates, who purchased approximately $3.3 million of the 15% Senior Secured Notes issued on the Initial Closing Date. Interest on the 15% Senior Secured Notes accrues at 15.0% per annum payable quarterly and all 15% Senior Secured Notes will mature on September 14, 2018 (the "Maturity Date"). The 15% Senior Secured Notes may be optionally redeemed in full at any time and must be redeemed in full upon additional issuances of debt by Emergent Capital, Inc., in each case, at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount redeemed plus (i) accrued and unpaid interest on the 15% Senior Secured Notes redeemed up to the date of redemption, and (ii) the present value, as of the date of redemption of all remaining interest payments to the Maturity Date using a discount rate equal to the yield to maturity at the time of computation on the US treasury security with a constant maturity most nearly equal to the period from the redemption date to the Maturity Date plus 50 basis points. Upon a change of control, the Company will be required to make an offer to holders of the Senior Secured Notes to repurchase the Senior Secured Notes at a price equal to 107.5% of their principal amount. The 15% Senior Secured Notes contain negative covenants restricting additional debt incurred by the Company, creation of liens on the collateral securing the 15% Senior Secured Notes, and restrictions on dividends and stock repurchases. The 15% Senior Secured Notes are secured by settlement proceeds, if any, received from certain litigation involving the Company, certain notes issued to the Company and a pledge of 65% of the equity interests in Blue Heron Designated Activity Company, OLIPP IV, LLC and Red Reef Alternative Investments, LLC. On or about April 7, 2017, the Company entered into an Exchange Participation Agreement (the "Participation Agreement") with holders (the "Consenting Senior Note Holders") representing 100% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Company's 15% Senior Secured Notes. Pursuant to the Participation Agreement, each Consenting Senior Note Holder agreed to enter into a Senior Note purchase agreement with PJC or its designee to sell 100% of the aggregate principal amount of the New Senior Notes that are to be issued to such Consenting Senior Note Holder at a price equal to 100% of the face amount of each New Senior Note purchased. Contemporaneously with the closing of all the transactions contemplated by the Agreements, including the closing of the Senior Note purchase agreement (the "Closing Date"), the Company agreed to pay each Consenting Senior Note Holder 5.0% of the face amount of the 15% Senior Secured Notes held by such Consenting Senior Note Holder, plus all accrued but unpaid interest under such Senior Notes through the Closing Date (the "Sale Participation Fee"). At or contemporaneously with the closing of the Transaction under the Master Transaction Agreements, the Company will cause to be issued the 8.5% Senior Notes due 2021 (the "New Senior Notes") in an aggregate amount not to exceed approximately $40.0 million pursuant to a Senior Note Indenture (the "New Senior Note Indenture") between the Company, as issuer, and the trustee to be later identified. Up to approximately $30.0 million aggregate principal amount of New Senior Notes may be issued to holders of the Existing Senior Notes, which would be PJC upon the Closing contemplated under the Exchange Participation Agreement and the Master Transaction Agreements, and PJC or its designee may acquire up to an additional $10.0 million principal amount of New Senior Notes. The New Senior Notes will be secured senior obligations of the Company and will mature four years from the date of Closing. The New Senior Notes will bear interest at a rate of 8.5% per annum, payable quarterly. The New Senior Notes will be secured senior obligations of the Company and will mature four years from the date of Closing. The New Senior Notes will bear interest at a rate of 8.5% per annum, payable quarterly. See Note 18 "Subsequent Events," of the accompanying financial statements for additional information. As of March 31, 2017 , the carrying value of the 15% Senior Secured Notes was $30.0 million , net of unamortized debt origination costs of $613,000 , which is being amortized over the remaining life of the 15% Senior Secured Notes using the effective interest method. During the three months ended March 31, 2017 , the Company recorded approximately $1.2 million of interest expense on the 15% Senior Secured Notes, which includes $1.1 million of interest and $90,000 of amortizing debt issuance costs, compared to interest expense of $279,000 during the three months ended March 31, 2016 , which included $215,000 , of interest and $65,000 of amortizing debt issuance costs, respectively.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Fair Value Measurements	Fair Value Measurements The Company carries life settlements and debt under the Revolving Credit Facilities at fair value as shown in the consolidated balance sheets. Fair value is defined as an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. As such, fair value is a market based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. Fair value measurements are classified based on the following fair value hierarchy: Level 1 -Valuation is based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities that are accessible at the reporting date. Since valuations are based on quoted prices that are readily and regularly available in an active market, valuation of these products does not entail a significant degree of judgment. Level 2 -Valuation is determined from pricing inputs that are other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date. Observable inputs include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, and interest rates and yield curves that are observable at commonly quoted intervals. Level 3 -Valuation is based on inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable. Level 3 inputs include situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the financial instrument. The inputs into the determination of fair value generally require significant management judgment or estimation. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis The balances of the Company’s assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2017 , are as follows (in thousands): Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Fair Value Assets: Investment in life settlements $ — $ — $ 506,672 $ 506,672 $ — $ — $ 506,672 $ 506,672 The balances of the Company’s liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2017 are as follows (in thousands): Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Fair Value Liabilities: White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility $ — $ — $ 290,200 $ 290,200 $ — $ — $ 290,200 $ 290,200 The balances of the Company’s assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2016 , are as follows (in thousands): Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Fair Value Assets: Investment in life settlements $ — $ — $ 498,400 $ 498,400 $ — $ — $ 498,400 $ 498,400 The balances of the Company’s liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2016 , are as follows (in thousands): Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Fair Value Liabilities: White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility $ — $ — $ 257,085 $ 257,085 $ — $ — $ 257,085 $ 257,085 The Company categorizes its investment in life settlement portfolio in two classes, non-premium financed and premium financed. In considering the categories, historically, it has generally believed that market participants would require a lower risk premium for policies that were non-premium financed, while a higher risk premium would be required for policies that were premium financed; the Company believes that this risk premium has been declining. ($ in thousands) Quantitative Information about Level 3 Fair Value Measurements Fair Value Aggregate Valuation Technique Unobservable Input Range (Weighted Average) Non-premium financed $ 97,023 $311,557 Discounted cash flow Discount rate 15.00% - 18.00% Life expectancy evaluation (5.7 years) Premium financed $ 409,649 $2,597,319 Discounted cash flow Discount rate 16.00% - 21.00% Life expectancy evaluation (9.3 years) Life settlements $ 506,672 $2,908,876 Discounted cash flow Discount rate 16.37% Life expectancy evaluation (8.9 years) White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility $ 290,200 $2,896,876 Discounted cash flow Discount rate 18.38% Life expectancy evaluation (8.9 years) Following is a description of the methodologies used to estimate the fair values of assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis and within the fair value hierarchy. Life settlements —The Company has elected to account for the life settlement policies it acquires using the fair value method. The Company uses a present value technique to estimate the fair value of its life settlements, which is a Level 3 fair value measurement as the significant inputs are unobservable and require significant management judgment or estimation. The Company currently uses a probabilistic method of valuing life insurance policies, which the Company believes to be the preferred valuation method in the industry. The most significant assumptions are the estimates of life expectancy of the insured and the discount rate. The Company provides medical records for each insured to LE providers. Each LE provider reviews and analyzes the medical records and identifies all medical conditions it feels are relevant to the life expectancy determination of the insured. Debits and credits are assigned by each LE provider to the individual’s health based on identified medical conditions which are derived from the experience of mortality attributed to relevant conditions in the portfolio of lives that the LE provider monitors. The health of the insured is summarized by the LE provider into a life assessment of the individual’s life expectancy expressed both in terms of months and in mortality factor. The mortality factor represents the degree to which the given life can be considered more or less impaired than a life having similar characteristics (e.g. gender, age, smoking, etc.). For example, a standard insured (the average life for the given mortality table) would carry a mortality rating of 100% . A similar but impaired life bearing a mortality rating of 200% would be considered to have twice the chance of dying earlier than the standard life relative to the LE provider’s population. Since each provider’s mortality factor is based on its own mortality table, the Company calculates its own factors to apply to the table selected by the Company. The Company calculates mortality factors so that when applied to the mortality table selected by the Company, the resulting LE equals the LE provided by each LE provider. The resulting mortality factors are then blended to determine a factor for each insured. A mortality curve is then generated based on the calculated mortality factors and the rates from the Company selected mortality table to generate the best estimated probabilistic cash flow stream. The net present value of the cash flows is then calculated to determine the policy value. If the insured dies earlier than expected, the return will be higher than if the insured dies when expected or later than expected. The calculation allows for the possibility that if the insured dies earlier than expected, the premiums needed to keep the policy in force will not have to be paid. Conversely, the calculation also considers the possibility that if the insured lives longer than expected, more premium payments will be necessary. Since the quarter ended September 30, 2012, and prior to June 30, 2016, the Company used the 2008 Valuation Basic tables, smoker distinct ("2008 VBT"), mortality tables developed by the U.S. Society of Actuaries (the "SOA"). The mortality tables are created based on the expected rates of death among different groups categorized by factors such as age and gender. During 2015, the SOA released new versions of the Valuation Basic Tables, the ("2015 VBT"). The 2015 VBT has a significant increase in exposure and number of claims compared to the 2008 VBT and is believed to be a better fit for the life settlement industry and is becoming more widely accepted. During the year ended December 31, 2016 , the Company changed its valuation technique and decided to adopt the 2015 VBT, smoker and gender distinct tables, to determine the value of the policies. The table shows lower mortality rates in the earlier select periods at most ages, so while the Company continues to fit the life expectancies from the LE providers to the 2015 VBT, the change in the mortality curve changes the timing of the Company’s expected cash flow streams. Future changes in the life expectancies could have a material adverse effect on the fair value of the Company’s life settlements, which could have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operations Life expectancy sensitivity analysis If all of the insured lives in the Company’s life settlement portfolio lived six months shorter or longer than the life expectancies provided by these third parties, the change in estimated fair value would be as follows (dollars in thousands): Life Expectancy Months Adjustment Value Change in Value +6 $ 423,376 $ (83,296 ) - $ 506,672 $ — -6 $ 594,453 $ 87,781 Discount rate The discount rate incorporates current information about market interest rates, the credit exposure to the insurance company that issued the life insurance policy and our estimate of the risk premium an investor in the policy would require. The Company re-evaluates its discount rates at the end of every reporting period in order to reflect the estimated discount rates that could reasonably be used in a market transaction involving the Company’s portfolio of life insurance policies. In doing so, the Company relies on management insight, engages third party consultants to corroborate its assessment, engages in discussions with other market participants and extrapolates the discount rate underlying actual sales of policies. At one time, due to the Company’s association with the USAO Investigation and certain civil litigation involving the Company, the Company believed that, when given the choice to invest in a policy that was associated with the Company’s premium finance business and a similar policy without such an association, all else being equal, an investor would have generally opted to invest in the policy that was not associated with the Company’s premium finance business. However, since the Company entered into a Non-prosecution Agreement, investors have required less of a risk premium to transact in policies associated with the Company’s legacy premium finance business. With passage of time, and resolution of litigations, the Company now believes investors no longer require a greater risk premium for policies associated with the Company's premium finance business than the risk premium otherwise required for policies that were premium financed. In general, the Company believes that the risk premium an investor would require to transact in a policy that has been premium financed versus a policy without premium financing is lessening in the current market environment and further expects that, with the passage of time, investors will continue to require less of a risk premium to transact in policies that had been premium financed. Credit exposure of insurance company The Company considers the financial standing of the issuer of each life insurance policy. Typically, we seek to hold policies issued by insurance companies that are rated investment grade by the top three credit rating agencies. At March 31, 2017 , the Company had 19 life insurance policies issued by three carriers that were rated non-investment grade as of that date. In order to compensate a market participant for the perceived credit and challenge risks associated with these policies, the Company applied an additional 300 basis point risk premium. The following table provides information about the life insurance issuer concentrations that exceed 10% of total death benefit and 10% of total fair value of the Company’s life settlements as of March 31, 2017 : Carrier Percentage of Total Fair Value Percentage of Total Death Benefit Moody's Rating S&P Rating Transamerica Life Insurance Company 18.7 % 20.9 % A1 AA- Lincoln National Life Insurance Company 22.0 % 19.4 % A1 AA- Estimated risk premium As of March 31, 2017 , the Company owned 617 policies with an estimated fair value of $506.7 million . Of these 617 policies, 536 were previously premium financed and are valued using discount rates that range from 16.00% to 21.00% . The remaining 81 policies, which are non-premium financed, are valued using discount rates that range from 15.00% to 18.00% . As of March 31, 2017 , the weighted average discount rate calculated based on death benefit used in valuing the policies in the Company’s life settlement portfolio was 16.37% . The discount rate incorporates current information about market interest rates, the credit exposure to the insurance company that issued the life insurance policy and our estimate of the risk premium an investor in the policy would require. The extent to which the fair value could vary in the near term has been quantified by evaluating the effect of changes in the weighted average discount rate on the death benefit used to estimate the fair value. If the weighted average discount rate was increased or decreased by 1/2 of 1% and the other assumptions used to estimate fair value remained the same, the change in estimated fair value would be as follows (dollars in thousands): Market interest rate sensitivity analysis Weighted Average Rate Calculated Based on Death Benefit Rate Adjustment Value Change in Value 15.87% -0.50% $ 520,072 $ 13,400 16.37% — $ 506,672 $ — 16.87% +0.50% $ 493,824 $ (12,848 ) Future changes in the discount rates we use to value life insurance policies could have a material effect on the Company's yield on life settlement transactions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of our operations. At the end of each reporting period we re-value the life insurance policies using our valuation model in order to update our estimate of fair value for investments in policies held on our balance sheet. This includes reviewing our assumptions for discount rates and life expectancies as well as incorporating current information for premium payments and the passage of time. White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility — As of March 31, 2017 , 615 policies are pledged by White Eagle to serve as collateral for its obligations under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility. Absent an event of default under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility, ongoing borrowings will be used to pay the premiums on these policies and certain approved third party expenses. As more fully described in Note 9, "White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility," proceeds from the maturity of the policies pledged as collateral under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility are distributed pursuant to a waterfall. After premium payments, fees to service providers and payments of interest, a percentage of the collections from policy proceeds are to be paid to the Company, which will vary depending on the then LTV ratio. The Company elected to account for the debt under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility in accordance with ASC 820, which includes the 45% interest in policy proceeds payable to the lender, using the fair value method. The fair value of the debt is the amount the Company would have to pay to transfer the debt to a market participant in an orderly transaction. We calculated the fair value of the debt using a discounted cash flow model taking into account the stated interest rate of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility and probabilistic cash flows from the pledged policies. Accordingly, our estimates are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that we, or holders of the instruments, could realize in a current market exchange. The most significant assumptions are the estimates of life expectancy of the insured and the discount rate. The use of different assumptions and/or estimation methodologies could have a material effect on the estimated fair values. During the year ended December 31, 2016 , the Company changed its valuation technique by adopting the 2015 VBT, smoker and gender distinct tables, to determine the value of the life insurance policies pledged as collateral in the facility. The table shows lower mortality rates in the earlier select periods at most ages, so while the Company continues to fit the life expectancies from the LE providers to the 2015 VBT, the change in the mortality curve changes the timing of the Company’s expected cash flow streams, which resulted in an increase in projected borrowings. Life expectancy sensitivity analysis of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility A considerable portion of the fair value of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility is determined by the timing of receipt of future policy proceeds. Should life expectancies lengthen such that policy proceeds are collected further into the future, the fair value of this debt will decline. Conversely, should life expectancies shorten, the fair value of this debt will increase. Considerable judgment is required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. If all of the insured lives in the life settlement portfolio pledged under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility live six months shorter or longer than the life expectancies used to calculate the estimated fair value of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility debt, the change in estimated fair value would be as follows (dollars in thousands): Life Expectancy Months Adjustment Fair Value of White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility Change in Value +6 $ 250,498 $ (39,702 ) $ 290,200 $ — -6 $ 336,371 $ 46,171 Future changes in the life expectancies could have a material effect on the fair value of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility, which could have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operations. Discount rate of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility The discount rate incorporates current information about market interest rates, credit exposure to insurance companies and the Company’s estimate of the return a lender lending against the policies would require. Market interest rate sensitivity analysis of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility The extent to which the fair value of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility could vary in the near term has been quantified by evaluating the effect of changes in the weighted average discount. If the weighted average discount rate were increased or decreased by 1/2 of 1% and the other assumptions used to estimate fair value remained the same, the change in estimated fair value of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility as of March 31, 2017 would be as follows (dollars in thousands): Discount Rate Rate Adjustment Fair Value of White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility Change in Value 17.88% -0.50 % $ 297,433 $ 7,233 18.38% — $ 290,200 $ — 18.88% +0.50 % $ 283,251 $ (6,949 ) Future changes in the discount rates could have a material effect on the fair value of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility, which could have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of its operations. At March 31, 2017 , the fair value of the debt was $290.2 million and the outstanding principal was approximately $282.7 million . Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility — During the year ended December 31, 2016 , the Company terminated the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility and repaid all outstanding principal and interest. At December 31, 2016, all policies that were pledged by Red Falcon to serve as collateral for its obligations under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility were sold to White Eagle. Prior to the Facility Termination, proceeds from the policies pledged as collateral under the Red Falcon Credit Facility were distributed pursuant to a waterfall with, subject to yield maintenance provisions, 5% of policy proceeds directed to the lenders. Thereafter proceeds were directed to pay fees to service providers and premiums with any remaining proceeds directed to pay outstanding interest and required amortization of 8% per annum on the loan. Generally, after payment of interest and required amortization, a percentage of the collections from policy proceeds were to be paid to the lenders to repay the then outstanding principal balance, which varied depending on the then loan to value ratio as more fully described in Note 10,"Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility." The Company had elected to account for this long-term debt using the fair value method. The fair value of the debt is the amount the Company would have to pay to transfer the debt to a market participant in an orderly transaction. The Company calculated the fair value of the debt using a discounted cash flow model taking into account the stated interest rate of the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility and probabilistic cash flows from the pledged policies. Accordingly, the Company’s estimates were not necessarily indicative of the amounts that the Company, or holders of the instruments, could realize in a current market exchange. The most significant assumptions were the estimates of life expectancy of the insured and the discount rate. The use of different assumptions and/or estimation methodologies could have a material effect on the estimated fair values. During the year ended December 31, 2016 , the Company changed its valuation technique by adopting the 2015 VBT, smoker and gender distinct tables, to determine the value of the life insurance policies pledged as collateral in the facility. The table shows lower mortality rates in the earlier select periods at most ages, so while the Company continues to fit the life expectancies from the LE providers to the 2015 VBT, the change in the mortality curve changes the timing of the Company’s expected cash flow streams, which resulted in an increase in projected borrowings. Convertible Notes —The Company determined that an embedded conversion option in the Convertible Notes was required to be separately accounted for as a derivative under Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging ("ASC 815") . ASC 815 required the Company to bifurcate the embedded conversion option and record it as a liability at fair value and reduce the debt liability by a corresponding discount of an equivalent amount. The Company used a Black Scholes pricing model that incorporates present valuation techniques and reflect both the time value and the intrinsic value of the embedded conversion option to approximate the fair value of the conversion derivative liability at the end of each reporting period. This model required assumptions as to expected volatility, dividends, terms, and risk free rates. In accordance with ASC 815, upon receipt of shareholder approval the Company reclassified the embedded derivative to stockholders’ equity along with unamortized transaction costs proportionate to the allocation of the initial debt discount and the principal amount of the Convertible Notes. The Convertible Notes continue to be recorded at accreted value up to the par value of the Convertible Notes at maturity. See Note 11 , " 8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes ," of the accompanying consolidated financial statements. Although the Company believes its valuation method is appropriate, the use of different methodologies or assumptions to determine the fair value could result in different fair values. Changes in Fair Value The following table provides a roll-forward in the changes in fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2017 , for all life settlement assets for which the Company determines fair value using a material level of unobservable (Level 3) inputs, which consists solely of life settlements (in thousands): Life Settlements: Balance, January 1, 2017 $ 498,400 Purchase of policies — Change in fair value 25,540 Matured/lapsed/sold policies (37,850 ) Premiums paid 20,582 Transfers into level 3 — Transfer out of level 3 — Balance, March 31, 2017 $ 506,672 Changes in fair value included in earnings for the period relating to assets held at March 31, 2017 $ 9,152 The following table provides a roll-forward in the changes in fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2017 , for the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility for which the Company determines fair value using a material level of unobservable (Level 3) inputs (in thousands): White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility: Balance, January 1, 2017 $ 257,085 Draws under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility 21,284 Payments on White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility — Unrealized change in fair value 11,831 Transfers into level 3 — Transfer out of level 3 — Balance, March 31, 2017 $ 290,200 Changes in fair value included in earnings for period relating to liabilities held at March 31, 2017 $ 11,831 The following table provides a roll-forward in the changes in fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2016 , for all assets for which the Company determines fair value using a material level of unobservable (Level 3) inputs, which consists solely of life settlements (in thousands): Life Settlements: Balance, January 1, 2016 $ 461,925 Purchase of policies 1,374 Change in fair value 8,388 Matured/sold policies (12,980 ) Premiums paid 16,653 Transfers into level 3 — Transfers out of level 3 — Balance, March 31, 2016 $ 475,360 Changes in fair value included in earnings for the period relating to assets held at March 31, 2016 $ 103 The following table provides a roll-forward in the changes in fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2016 , for the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility for which the Company determines fair value using a material level of unobservable (Level 3) inputs (in thousands): White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility: Balance, January 1, 2016 $ 169,131 Draws under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility 12,595 Payments on White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility (2,509 ) Unrealized change in fair value 3,094 Transfers into level 3 — Transfer out of level 3 — Balance, March 31, 2016 $ 182,311 Changes in fair value included in earnings for the period relating to liabilities at March 31, 2016 $ 3,094 The following table provides a roll-forward in the changes in fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2016 , for the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility for which the Company determines fair value using a material level of unobservable (Level 3) inputs (in thousands): Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility Balance, January 1, 2016 $ 55,658 Draws under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility 5,086 Payments on Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility (4,086 ) Unrealized change in fair value 1,002 Transfers into level 3 — Transfer out of level 3 — Balance, March 31, 2016 $ 57,660 Changes in fair value included in earnings for the period relating to liabilities held at March 31, 2016 $ 1,002 There were no transfers of financial assets or liabilities between levels of the fair value hierarchy during the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 . Other Fair Value Considerations - Carrying value of certificate of deposits, prepaid expenses and other assets, receivable for maturity of life settlements, investment in affiliates, Senior Secured Notes, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value due to their short-term maturities and/or low credit risk.

Segment Information

Segment Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Segment Information	Segment Information On October 25, 2013, the Company sold its structured settlement business, which was previously reported as an operating segment. The operating results related to the Company’s structured settlement business have been included in discontinued operations in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations for all periods presented and the Company has discontinued segment reporting. See Note 7 "Discontinued Operations" to the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments and Contingencies	Commitments and Contingencies Lease Agreements The Company leases office space under a lease that commenced on October 1, 2014. The lease expires on September 30, 2020 . The annual base rent is $239,000 , with a provision for a 3% increase on each anniversary of the rent commencement date. Rent expense was approximately $106,000 and $104,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. Future minimum lease payments for the remainder of 2017 are approximately $181,000 . Employment Agreements The Company has entered into employment agreements with certain of its officers, including with its chief executive officer, whose agreement provides for substantial payments in the event that the executive terminates his employment with the Company due to a material change in the geographic location where the chief executive officer performs his duties or upon a material diminution of his base salary or responsibilities, with or without cause. These payments are equal to three times the sum of the chief executive officer’s base salary and the average of the preceding three years’ annual cash bonus. The Company does not have any general policies regarding the use of employment agreements, but has and may, from time to time, enter into such a written agreement to reflect the terms and conditions of employment of a particular named executive officer, whether at the time of hire or thereafter. Separation Agreement On April 26, 2012, the Company entered into a Separation Agreement and General Release of Claims (the "Separation Agreement") with its former chief operating officer, Jonathan Neuman. The Separation Agreement obligates the Company to indemnify Mr. Neuman for his legal expenses. The Company recognized indemnification expenses of $0 and $178,000 during the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. Litigation In accordance with applicable accounting guidance, the Company establishes an accrued liability for litigation and regulatory matters when those matters present loss contingencies that are both probable and estimable. In such cases, there may be an exposure to loss in excess of any amounts accrued. When a loss contingency is not both probable and estimable, the Company does not establish an accrued liability. As a litigation or regulatory matter develops, the Company, in conjunction with any outside counsel handling the matter, evaluates on an ongoing basis whether such matter presents a loss contingency that is probable and estimable. If, at the time of evaluation, the loss contingency related to a litigation or regulatory matter is not both probable and estimable, the matter will continue to be monitored for further developments that would make such loss contingency both probable and estimable. When a loss contingency related to a litigation or regulatory matter is deemed to be both probable and estimable, the Company will establish an accrued liability with respect to such loss contingency and record a corresponding amount of litigation-related expense. The Company will then continue to monitor the matter for further developments that could affect the amount of any such accrued liability. Sun Life On April 18, 2013, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada ("Sun Life") filed a complaint against the Company and several of its affiliates in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, entitled Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada v. Imperial Holdings, Inc., et al . (" Sun Life Case "), asserting, among other things, that at least 28 life insurance policies issued by Sun Life and owned by the Company through certain of its subsidiary companies were invalid. The Sun Life complaint, as amended, asserted the following claims: (1) violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ("RICO") Act, (2) conspiracy to violate the RICO Act, (3) common law fraud, (4) aiding and abetting fraud, (5) civil conspiracy to commit fraud, (6) tortious interference with contractual obligations, and (7) a declaration that the policies issued were void. Following the filing of a motion by the Company to dismiss the Sun Life Case, on December 9, 2014, counts (2), (4), (5), (6) and (7) of the Sun Life Case were dismissed with prejudice. The Company then filed a motion for summary judgment on the remaining counts. On February 4, 2015, the Court issued an order (the "Order") granting the Company’s motion for summary judgment on counts (1) and (3), resulting in the Company prevailing on all counts in the Sun Life Case. On July 29, 2013, the Company filed a separate complaint against Sun Life in United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, entitled Imperial Premium Finance, LLC v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (" Imperial Case "), which was subsequently consolidated with the Sun Life Case. The Imperial complaint asserts claims against Sun Life for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and fraud, and seeks a judgment declaring that Sun Life is obligated to comply with the promises made by it in certain insurance policies. The complaint also seeks compensatory damages of no less than $30.0 million in addition to an award of punitive damages. On August 23, 2013, Sun Life moved to dismiss the complaint, which was denied by the Court as part of the Order. On February 26, 2015, Sun Life filed a Notice of Appeal from the Order to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which had denied Sun Life’s motion to dismiss. On December 17, 2015, after the matter was fully briefed, the Circuit Court issued an order granting the Company’s motion to dismiss and sent the case back to the District Court. The District Court lifted the stay and ordered Sun Life to file its Answer to the Imperial Case by January 22, 2016. On February 3, 2016, the District Court set a trial date of the Imperial Case for October 31, 2016. On September 22, 2016, the Court granted summary judgment in favor of Sun Life on the entirety of the Imperial complaint and subsequently entered final judgment to end the case. After denial of its motion to alter or amend the judgment, the Company filed a notice of appeal on January 12, 2017. Sun Life filed its notice of appeal on January 24, 2017. The Company and Sun Life have requested oral argument and each continue to submit required briefs to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Other Litigation The Company is party to various other legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. Due to the inherent difficulty of predicting the outcome of litigation and other legal proceedings, the Company cannot predict the eventual outcome of these matters, and it is reasonably possible that some of them could be resolved unfavorably to the Company. As a result, it is possible that the Company’s results of operations or cash flows in a particular fiscal period could be materially affected by an unfavorable resolution of pending litigation or contingencies. However, the Company believes that the resolution of these other proceedings will not, based on information currently available, have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

Stockholders' Equity

Stockholders' Equity	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Equity [Abstract]
Stockholders' Equity	Stockholders’ Equity During the second quarter of 2015, the Company issued 6,688,433 shares of common stock pursuant to a rights offering at a price of $5.75 per share. In connection with the settlement of class litigation, the Company issued warrants to purchase two million shares of the Company’s stock into an escrow account in April 2014 and were distributed in October 2014. The estimated fair value at the measurement date of such warrants was $5.4 million , which is included in stockholder’s equity. The warrants have a five -year term from the date of their distribution with an exercise price of $10.75 . The Company is obligated to file a registration statement to register the shares underlying the warrants with the SEC if shares of the Company’s common stock have an average daily trading closing price of at least $8.50 per share for a 45 day period. The warrants will be exercisable upon effectiveness of the registration statement. The Company has reserved an aggregate of 2,700,000 shares of common stock under its Omnibus Plan, of which 605,227 options to purchase shares of common stock granted to existing employees were outstanding as of March 31, 2017 , and 116,871 shares of restricted stock had been granted to directors under the plan with 265,212 shares subject to vesting. There were 1,712,690 securities remaining for future issuance under the Omnibus Plan as of March 31, 2017 . On September 1, 2015, the Company announced that its Board of Directors authorized a $10.0 million share and note repurchase program. The program has a two -year expiration date, and authorizes the Company to repurchase up to $10.0 million of its common stock and/or its Convertible Notes due 2019. During 2015, the Company purchased 608,000 shares for a total cost of approximately $2.5 million , which is an average cost of $4.17 per share, including transaction fees. There were no purchases during three months ended March 31, 2017 . As of March 31, 2017 , the Company may purchase up to approximately $7.5 million of additional common stock or Convertible Notes under its board authorized plan. However, the Company's 15% Senior Secured Notes restrict the Company from repurchasing its common stock if the Company has less than $20 million in cash and cash equivalents. On March 14, 2016, the Company filed a prospectus supplement with the SEC related to the offer and sale from time to time of the Company's common stock at an aggregate offering price of up to $50.0 million through FBR Capital Markets & Co. and MLV & Co. LLC, as distribution agents. Sales of shares of the Company's common stock under the prospectus supplement and the equity distribution agreement entered into with the distribution agents, if any, may be made in negotiated transactions or transactions that are deemed to be "at the market" offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933. The Company has agreed to pay the distribution agents a commission rate of up to 3% of the gross proceeds from the sale of any shares of common stock sold through the equity distribution agreement. During the year ended December 31, 2016 , the Company sold 628,309 shares of common stock under this prospectus supplement at a weighted average price per share of $3.00 , receiving proceeds net of commissions totaling approximately $1.8 million . Approximately $56,600 in commissions were paid in connection with the sales of shares. On March 15, 2017, the Company entered into a series of separate Master Transaction Agreements (together, the "Agreements") by and between the Company, PJC Investments, LLC, a Texas limited liability company ("PJC"), and each such Consenting Convertible Note Holder that is a party to such Agreement regarding a series of integrated transactions with the intent to effect a recapitalization of the Company (the "Transaction"), which includes an Amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of the Company's common stock, $0.01 par value (the "Common Stock"), a Common Stock Purchase Agreement, a Convertible Note Exchange Offer, a New Convertible Note Indenture providing for the issuance of New Convertible Notes, a Senior Note Exchange Offer, a New Senior Note Indenture providing for the issuance of New Senior Notes, a Senior Note Purchase Agreement, a Warrant and certain other agreements and documents to be delivered in connection with the Transaction (each as defined in the Agreements, and together with the Agreements, the "Transaction Documents"). The Agreements and the transactions contemplated under the Agreements were unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of the Company on March 13, 2017. As of May 15, 2017, the Company had entered into Master Transaction Agreements with holders of more than 98% of the outstanding principal amount of the Convertible Notes. On April 7, 2017, the Company entered into a series of Amendments to the Master Transaction Agreements (the "Amendments"), which amend each Master Transaction Agreement made as of March 15, 2017, as amended to date and from time to time, by and between the Company, PJC, and the Consenting Convertible Note Holders party to each Agreement. The modifications as a result of the Amendments are specified below. Under the Agreements, PJC and other parties agreed to certain undertakings, including: (i) PJC or its designee (the "Investor") purchasing up to 100% of the Company’s New Senior Notes from holders pursuant to the Senior Note Purchase Agreement, (ii) PJC or the Investor purchasing $15.0 million in shares of Common Stock, pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, and (iii) issuance to PJC or the Investor of a warrant to purchase up to 40,000,000 shares, as amended, of Common Stock at an exercise price of $0.20 per share, as amended, for an aggregate purchase price of up to $8.0 million . Upon the closing of the proposed transactions, the Company’s Board of Directors will include four members representing PJC and one member representing the convertible note holders. On April 7, 2017, the Company entered into an Exchange Participation Agreement (the "Participation Agreement") with holders (the "Consenting Senior Note Holders") representing 100% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Company's 15% Senior Secured Notes due 2018 (the 15% Senior Secured Notes"). Pursuant to the Participation Agreement, on or before the date that is five business days after the Company launches the exchange offer (the "Senior Note Exchange Offer") offered to all holders of 15% Senior Secured Notes to exchange their 15% Senior Secured Notes for 8.5% Senior Notes due 2021 (the "New Senior Notes") issued under the indenture governing the New Senior Notes (the "New Senior Note Indenture"), each Consenting Senior Note Holder agreed to on or before the date that is five business days after the Company launches the Senior Note Exchange Offer (i) tender all of the 15% Senior Secured Notes it holds into the Senior Note Exchange Offer in exchange for New Senior Notes to be governed by the New Senior Note Indenture, and (ii) enter into a Senior Note purchase agreement with PJC or the Investor to sell 100% of the aggregate principal amount of the New Senior Notes that are to be issued to such Consenting Senior Note Holder at a price equal to 100% of the face amount of each New Senior Note purchased. Contemporaneously with the closing of all the transactions contemplated by the Agreements, including the closing of the Senior Note purchase agreement (the "Closing Date"), the Company agreed to pay each Consenting Senior Note Holder 5.0% of the face amount of the 15% Senior Secured Notes held by such Consenting Senior Note Holder, plus all accrued but unpaid interest under such 15% Senior Secured Notes through the Closing Date (the "Sale Participation Fee"). However, in the event the Company elects not to launch the Senior Note Exchange Offer, (i) each Consenting Senior Note Holder agreed to enter into a Senior Note purchase agreement with PJC or the Investor to sell at the closing of all the transactions contemplated by the Agreements 100% of the Senior Notes it holds at a price equal to the face amount of each 15% Senior Secured Note in lieu of participating in the Senior Note Exchange Offer and (ii) at the Closing Date, the Company agreed to pay the Sale Participation Fee to the Consenting Senior Note Holders. In such event the Company elects not to launch the Senior Note Exchange Offer, the Company has agreed to amend and restate the existing indenture governing the Senior Notes to conform in substantially identical terms to the terms of the New Senior Notes as set forth in the New Senior Note Indenture under the Agreements. To date, the Company has elected not to launch the Senior Note Exchange Offer. See Note 18 "Subsequent Events," of the accompanying financial statements for additional information.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Income Taxes	Income Taxes The Company’s provision for income taxes from continuing operations is estimated to result in an annual effective tax rate of approximately 0.0% for the three month period ended March 31, 2017 and in 2016 , respectively. The Company’s quarterly effective income tax rates are based upon the Company’s current estimated annual rate. The Company’s annual effective income tax rate varies based upon the Company’s taxable earnings, as well as on a mix of taxable earnings in the various state and foreign jurisdictions. Based on the Company's evaluation, a deferred tax valuation allowance was established against its net deferred tax assets. In its evaluation, management considers taxable loss carryback availability, expectations of sufficient future taxable income, trends in earnings, existence of taxable income in recent years, the future reversal of temporary differences, and available tax planning strategies that could be implemented, if required. Valuation allowances are established based on the consideration of all available evidence using a more likely than not standard. This valuation allowance was determined to be necessary as an offset to the full amount of the federal and state deferred tax asset. During the three month period ended March 31, 2017 , the Company does not expect that position to change and therefore is not recording any benefit. In March of 2014, the Company was notified by the IRS of its intention to examine our tax returns for the years ended 2012 and 2013. Tax years prior to 2012 are no longer subject to IRS examination. Various state jurisdiction tax years remain open to examination. The Company and its subsidiary companies are subject to U.S. federal income tax, as well as to income tax in Florida and other states and foreign jurisdictions in which it operates.

Subsequent Events

Subsequent Events	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Subsequent Events [Abstract]
Subsequent Events	Subsequent Events Amendments to Master Transaction Agreements On April 7, 2017, the Company entered into a series of Amendments to Master Transaction Agreements (the "Amendments"), which amend each Master Transaction Agreement made as of March 15, 2017, as amended to date and from time to time (collectively, the "Agreements"), by and between the Company, PJC Investments, LLC, a Texas limited liability company ("PJC"), and the Consenting Convertible Note Holders party to each Agreement. The purpose of the Amendments was to, among other things, modify the definitions of "Common Stock Purchase Agreement," "Convertible Note Exchange Offer," "Warrant," and "Warrant Shares" in order to (i) change the purchase price or exercise price, as applicable, of shares of the Company’s common stock being issued under such transactions (the "Common Stock") from $0.25 per share to $0.20 per share and (ii) increase the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock being issued under such transactions by 20% . Accordingly, the form of each the Common Stock Purchase Agreement and the Warrant attached as Exhibits A and E to the Agreements were deemed amended to reflect the foregoing modifications. Additionally, the Amendments added a covenant to each Agreement in order to conform to certain provisions of the Participation Agreement, as described below. Exchange Participation Agreement On April 7, 2017, the Company entered into an Exchange Participation Agreement (the "Participation Agreement") with holders (the "Consenting Senior Note Holders") representing 100% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Company's 15% Senior Secured Notes due 2018 (the " 15% Senior Secured Notes"). Pursuant to the Participation Agreement, on or before the date that is five business days after the Company launches the exchange offer (the "Senior Note Exchange Offer") offered to all holders of 15% Senior Secured Notes to exchange their 15% Senior Secured Notes for 8.5% Senior Notes due 2021 (the "New Senior Notes") issued under the indenture governing the New Senior Notes (the "New Senior Note Indenture"), each Consenting Senior Note Holder agreed to on or before the date that is five business days after the Company launches the Senior Note Exchange Offer (i) tender all of the 15% Senior Secured Notes it holds into the Senior Note Exchange Offer in exchange for New Senior Notes to be governed by the New Senior Note Indenture, and (ii) enter into a Senior Note purchase agreement with PJC or the Investor to sell 100% of the aggregate principal amount of the New Senior Notes that are to be issued to such Consenting Senior Note Holder at a price equal to 100% of the face amount of each New Senior Note purchased. Contemporaneously with the closing of all the transactions contemplated by the Agreements, including the closing of the Senior Note purchase agreement (the "Closing Date"), the Company agreed to pay each Consenting Senior Note Holder 5.0% of the face amount of the 15% Senior Secured Notes held by such Consenting Senior Note Holder, plus all accrued but unpaid interest under such 15% Senior Secured Notes through the Closing Date (the "Sale Participation Fee"). However, in the event the Company elects not to launch the Senior Note Exchange Offer, (i) each Consenting Senior Note Holder agreed to enter into a Senior Note purchase agreement with PJC or the Investor to sell at the closing of all the transactions contemplated by the Agreements 100% of the 15% Senior Secured Notes it holds at a price equal to the face amount of each Senior Note in lieu of participating in the Senior Note Exchange Offer and (ii) at the Closing Date, the Company agreed to pay the Sale Participation Fee to the Consenting Senior Note Holders. In such event the Company elects not to launch the Senior Note Exchange Offer, the Company has agreed to amend and restate the existing indenture governing the Senior Notes to conform in substantially identical terms to the terms of the New Senior Notes as set forth in the New Senior Note Indenture under the Agreements. To date, the Company has elected not to launch the Senior Note Exchange Offer. Exchange Offer for Outstanding Notes and Related Consent Solicitation On April 18, 2017, the Company launched an offer to exchange any and all of its outstanding $74.2 million 8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes due 2019 (the "Old Notes") for $74.2 million aggregate principal amount of a new series of 5.00% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes due 2023 (the "New Unsecured Notes") and the right to subscribe (the "Rights Offering") for 500 shares of Emergent's $0.01 par value common stock at $0.20 per share for each $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes tendered up to an aggregate of 40,000,000 shares of the Issuer's common stock. Simultaneously, the Company has commenced a solicitation of consents from the holders of the Old Notes to eliminate substantially all restrictive covenants contained in the Old Notes Indenture and the Old Notes (the "Proposed Amendments"). Holders who tender their Old Notes into the exchange offer will be deemed to have given their consents to the Proposed Amendments with respect to those tendered Old Notes. The Old Notes and other information relating to the exchange offer and consent solicitation are set forth in the table below. Old Notes to be Exchanged Total Consideration* 8.5% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes Due 2019 CUSIP 452834AE4 CUSIP 29102NAB1 (PIK notes) For each $1,000 Principal Amount of Old Notes, $1,000 Principal Amount of New Unsecured Notes plus the right to purchase 500 shares of common stock at $0.20 per share *Per $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes validly tendered and accepted. Accrued and unpaid interest through but excluding the date of exchange will be paid in addition to the Total Consideration in the form of additional New Unsecured Notes. Second Senior Supplemental Indenture On May 15, 2017, the Company as issuer, and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee, entered into a supplemental indenture (the "Second Senior Supplemental Indenture"), implementing a second amendment to the Indenture dated as of March 11, 2016, as amended (the "Senior Secured Indenture") governing the Company’s outstanding 15.0% Senior Secured Notes due 2018 (the " 15.0% Senior Secured Notes") following the Company’s receipt of requisite consents of the holders of the 15.0% Senior Secured Notes. The Second Senior Supplemental Indenture amends the definition of "Permitted Indebtedness" to include the Bridge Note, as defined below. Bridge Financing Loan On May 15, 2017, the Company entered into a $1.5 million Promissory Note with PJC Investments, LLC (the "Bridge Note"), to provide financing to fund the Company's continued operations. The Bridge Note matures on July 3, 2017. Under the Bridge Note, the Company may request an advance of funds, and PJC shall make an advance to the Company, provided that (i) the aggregate amount of outstanding advances shall not exceed $1.5 million and (ii) the Company’s proposed budgeted use of proceeds for such advance is reasonably acceptable to PJC. Advances under the Bridge Note bear interest at an annual rate of 15% . The Bridge Note includes certain default provisions customary to bridge financing facilities of this type which are subject to customary grace periods, including, among others, (i) defaults related to payment failures; (ii) failure to comply with covenants; (iii) any material misrepresentation of fact made or deemed made by or on behalf of the Company; (iv) failure by the Company to comply with any of its obligations under any Master Transaction Agreement; (v) defaults in payment of any indebtedness of the Company that continues after the applicable grace or cure period; (vi) bankruptcy and related events and; (vii) change of control without the prior written consent of PJC. Default interest accrues at an annual rate of 17% . The Bridge Note contains certain affirmative and negative covenants customary for bridge financing facilities of this type. In consideration for the Bridge Note and pursuant to a fee letter agreement by and between the Company and PJC dated May 15, 2017 (the "Fee Agreement"), the Company agreed to pay an additional termination fee equal to $1.5 million in the event that the Company becomes obligated to pay certain termination fees pursuant to certain termination provisions under the Master Transaction Agreements.

Principles of Consolidation a25

Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, all of its wholly-owned subsidiary companies and its special purpose entities, with the exception of Imperial Settlements Financing 2010, LLC ("ISF 2010"), an unconsolidated special purpose entity which is accounted for using the cost method of accounting. The special purpose entity has been created to fulfill specific objectives. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation, including income from services performed by subsidiary companies in connection with the Revolving Credit Facilities, as detailed herein. Notwithstanding consolidation, as referenced above, White Eagle is the owner of 615 policies, with an aggregate death benefit of approximately $2.9 billion and an estimated fair value of approximately $506.0 million at March 31, 2017 . The unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with the rules and regulations of the SEC for Form 10-Q and therefore do not include certain information, accounting policies, and footnote disclosures information or footnotes necessary for a complete presentation of financial position, results of operations and cash flows in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. However, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals), which, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial statements, have been included. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for future periods or for the year ended December 31, 2017 . These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in Emergent Capital's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 .
Derivative Instruments	Derivative Instrument In February 2014, the Company issued and sold $70.7 million in aggregate principal amount of 8.50% senior unsecured convertible notes due 2019 (the "Convertible Notes"). Prior to shareholder approval on June 5, 2014 to issue shares of common stock upon conversion of the Convertible Notes in excess of New York Stock Exchange limits for share issuances without shareholder approval, the Convertible Notes contained an embedded derivative feature. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 815, Derivatives and Hedging , derivative instruments are recognized as either assets or liabilities on the Company’s balance sheet and are measured at fair value with gains or losses recognized in earnings. Embedded derivatives that are not clearly and closely related to the host contract, such as the Convertible Notes, are bifurcated and recognized at fair value with changes in fair value recognized as either a gain or loss in earnings if they can be reliably measured. The Company determined the fair value of its embedded derivative based upon available market data and unobservable inputs using a Black Scholes pricing model. In accordance with ASC 815, upon receipt of shareholder approval on June 5, 2014, the Company reclassified the embedded derivative to equity along with unamortized transaction costs proportionate to the allocation of the initial debt discount and the principal amount of the Convertible Notes. The Convertible Notes are recorded at accreted value and will continue to be accreted up to the par value of the Convertible Notes at maturity. See Note 11 , " 8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes .
Foreign Currency	Foreign Currency The Company owns certain foreign subsidiary companies formed under the laws of Ireland, Bahamas and Bermuda. These foreign subsidiary companies utilize the U.S. dollar as their functional currency. The foreign subsidiary companies' financial statements are denominated in U.S. dollars and therefore, there are no translation gains and losses resulting from translating the financial statements at exchange rates other than the functional currency. Any gains and losses resulting from foreign currency transactions (transactions denominated in a currency other than the subsidiary companies' functional currency) are included in income. These gains and losses are immaterial to the Company’s financial statements.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of consolidated financial statements, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"), requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates and such differences could be material. Significant estimates made by management include income taxes, the valuation of life settlements, the valuation of the debt owing under the Revolving Credit Facilities, the valuation of equity awards and the valuation of the conversion derivative liability formerly embedded within the Convertible Notes.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers," which converges the FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") standard on revenue recognition. Areas of revenue recognition that will be affected include, but are not limited to, transfer of control, variable consideration, allocation of transfer pricing, licenses, time value of money, contract costs and disclosures. In April 2015, the FASB voted to defer the effective date of the new revenue recognition standard by one year. As a result, the provisions of this ASU are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Following the deferral, in March 2016 the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-08, "Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net)" which aims to clarify the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations. The amendments in this Update do not change the core principle of the guidance in No. 2014-09. The effective date and transition requirements of ASU No. 2016-08 are the same as the effective date and transitions requirements of Update 2014-09. The Company does not expect that this guidance will have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15, "Disclosures of Uncertainties About an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern." The standard provides guidance around management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. The standard is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company adopted this guidance during the three months ended March 31, 2017 . Management has performed a going concern analysis of the Company's liquidity needs and the appropriate disclosures have been incorporated in the accompanying consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2017 . In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-06, "Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Contingent Put and Call Options in Debt Instruments." Topic 815 requires that embedded derivatives be separated from the host contract and accounted for separately as derivatives if certain criteria are met. One of those criteria is that the economic characteristics and risks of the embedded derivatives are not clearly and closely related to the economic characteristics and risks of the host contract (the "clearly and closely related" criterion). The guidance in this ASU intends to resolve the diversity in practice resulting from the application of the existing four-step decision sequence defined in ASC 815-15-25-42 to call (put) options that can accelerate the repayment of principal on a debt instrument if they meet the clearly and closely related criterion by clarifying that an entity is required to perform only the four-step decision sequence. The entity does not have to separately assess whether the event that triggers its ability to exercise the contingent option is itself indexed only to interest rates or credit risk. This ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption is permitted including adoption in an interim period, as long as any adjustment is reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes the interim period. We are currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-06 will have on our consolidated financial statements or related disclosures. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, "Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting" as part of its Simplification Initiative. The guidance simplifies several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. For public business entities, these amendments are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted including adoption in an interim period, as long as any adjustment is reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes the interim period. The Company adopted this guidance during the quarter ended March 31, 2017. The adoption of this ASU did not impact the consolidated financial statements or related disclosures. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, "Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments." This ASU provides specific guidance on eight cash flow classification issues that are either unclear or not included in current GAAP. These cash flow classification issues include debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs, settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments, contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims, proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, distributions received from equity method investees, beneficial interests in securitization transactions, and separately identifiable cash flows and application of the predominance principle. The amendments in this update are effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. If an entity early adopts the amendments in an interim period, any adjustments should be reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes that interim period. An entity that elects early adoption must adopt all of the amendments in the same period. We are currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-15 will have on our consolidated financial statements.

Consolidation of Variable Int26

Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities	The following table presents the consolidated assets and consolidated liabilities of VIEs for which the Company has concluded that it is the primary beneficiary and which are consolidated in the Company’s financial statements as of March 31, 2017 as well as non-consolidated VIEs for which the Company has determined it is not the primary beneficiary (in thousands): Primary Beneficiary Not Primary Beneficiary Consolidated VIEs Non-consolidated VIEs Assets Liabilities Total Assets Maximum Exposure To Loss March 31, 2017 $ 554,737 $ 290,883 $ 2,384 $ 2,384 December 31, 2016 511,792 257,678 2,384 $ 2,384

Earnings Per Share (Tables)

Earnings Per Share (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Reconciliation of Actual Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share	The following table reconciles actual basic and diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands except share and per share data). For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2017(1) 2016(2) Income (loss) per share: Numerator: Net income (loss) from continuing operations $ 1,884 $ (7,445 ) Net income (loss) from discontinued operations (189 ) (68 ) Net income (loss) $ 1,695 $ (7,513 ) Basic and diluted income (loss) per common share: Basic and diluted income (loss) from continuing operations $ 0.07 $ (0.27 ) Basic and diluted income (loss) from discontinued operations (0.01 ) — Basic and diluted income (loss) per share available to common shareholders $ 0.06 $ (0.27 ) Denominator: Basic and Diluted 28,148,632 27,481,249 (1) The computation of diluted EPS does not include 265,212 shares of restricted stock, 605,227 options, 6,240,521 warrants, and up to 11,266,011 shares of underlying common stock issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, as the effect of their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. (2) The computation of diluted EPS did not include 41,259 shares of restricted stock, 763,594 options, 6,240,521 warrants, up to 10,738,165 shares of underlying common stock issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Notes and 319,500 performance shares, as the effect of their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive.

Stock-based Compensation (Table

Stock-based Compensation (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]
Common Stock Option Activity	The following table presents the activity of the Company’s outstanding stock options of common stock for the three months ended March 31, 2017 : Common Stock Options Number of Shares Weighted Average Exercise Price per Share Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term Aggregate Intrinsic Value Options outstanding, January 1, 2017 763,594 $ 8.52 2.47 $ — Options granted — — — Options exercised — — — Options forfeited (158,367 ) $ 8.00 — Options expired — — — Options outstanding, March 31, 2017 605,227 $ 8.66 2.14 $ — Exercisable at March 31, 2017 605,227 $ 8.66 2.14 Unvested at March 31, 2017 — — — $ —
Activity of Unvested Shares of Restricted Stock	The following table presents the activity of the Company’s unvested shares of restricted stock for the three months ended March 31, 2017 : Common Unvested Shares Number of Shares Outstanding January 1, 2017 265,212 Granted — Vested — Forfeited — Outstanding March 31, 2017 265,212

Discontinued Operations (Tables

Discontinued Operations (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]
Operating Results of Discontinued Structured Settlement Business	Operating results related to the Company’s discontinued structured settlement business are as follows: Three Months Ended 2017 2016 Total income $ 3 $ 3 Total expenses 192 71 Income (loss) before income taxes (189 ) (68 ) Income tax benefit — — Net income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes $ (189 ) $ (68 )

Life Settlements (Life Insura30

Life Settlements (Life Insurance Policies) (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Investments, All Other Investments [Abstract]
Life Settlements	The following table describes the Company’s life settlements as of March 31, 2017 (dollars in thousands): Remaining Life Expectancy (In Years)* Number of Life Settlement Contracts Estimated Fair Value Face Value 0 - 1 4 $ 16,367 $ 19,721 1 - 2 16 38,602 57,093 2 - 3 12 20,840 43,374 3 - 4 39 61,945 153,992 4 - 5 38 54,588 172,558 Thereafter 508 314,330 2,462,138 Total 617 $ 506,672 $ 2,908,876 *Based on remaining life expectancy at March 31, 2017 , as derived from reports of third party life expectancy providers, and does not indicate the timing of expected death benefits. See "Life Settlements" in Note 13, "Fair Value Measurements" of the accompanying consolidated financial statements. The following table describes the Company’s life settlements as of December 31, 2016 (dollars in thousands): Remaining Life Expectancy (In Years)* Number of Life Settlement Contracts Estimated Fair Value Face Value 0-1 4 $ 16,280 $ 19,497 1-2 14 35,019 52,093 2-3 14 31,300 57,274 3-4 31 44,096 114,449 4-5 40 57,792 172,157 Thereafter 518 313,913 2,531,041 Total 621 $ 498,400 $ 2,946,511 *Based on remaining life expectancy at December 31, 2016 , as derived from reports of third party life expectancy providers, and does not indicate the timing of expected death benefits. See "Life Settlements" in Note 13, "Fair Value Measurements" of the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
Estimated Premiums To Be Paid	Estimated premiums to be paid for each of the five succeeding fiscal years and thereafter to keep the life insurance policies in force as of March 31, 2017 , are as follows (in thousands): Remainder of 2017 $ 63,155 2018 85,648 2019 92,666 2020 96,339 2021 96,537 Thereafter 871,258 $ 1,305,603

White Eagle Revolving Credit 31

White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility (Tables) - Revolving Credit Facility - White Eagle	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Schedule of Proceeds Distributed	After distributions for premium payments, fees to service providers and payments of interest, a percentage of the collections from policy proceeds are to be paid to the Company, which will vary depending on the then LTV ratio as illustrated below where the valuation is determined by the lenders: LTV Premiums, Interest & Other Fees Principal Distribution to White Eagle - 55% Lender Participation - 45% N/A 100% —% —% —% >65% N/A 100% —% —% 50-65% N/A 70% 16.5% 13.5% 35-50% N/A 55% 24.8% 20.3% 0-35% N/A 45% 30.3% 24.8%
Schedule of Long-term Debt Instruments	For the three months ended March 31, 2017 , approximately $2.5 million of proceeds received from the maturity of policies pledged under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility, were distributed through the waterfall in the following stages of priority (in thousands): Clause Amount Use of Proceeds First: $ 59 Custodian and Securities Intermediary Second: — White Eagle - Ongoing Maintenance Cost Reimbursable Third: — Administrative Agent - Protective Advances Fourth: 10 Administrative Agent - Administrative Agent Fee and Legal Expense Reimbursement Fifth: 2,412 Administrative Agent - Accrued and Unpaid Interest Sixth: — Administrative Agent - Required Amortization Seventh: — Administrative Agent - Amortization Shortfall Eighth: — Administrative Agent - Participation Interest Ninth: — Reserved - $0 Tenth: — Administrative Agent Aggregate Unpaid Participation Interest Eleventh: — Administrative Agent - Remaining Available Amount After Clause First to Tenth Twelfth: — Wilmington Trust - Custodian and Securities Intermediary - Unpaid Fees Thirteenth: — Borrower - Any Remaining Available Amount After Clause First to Twelfth Total Distributions $ 2,481
Schedule of Reconciliation of Proceeds Distributed	The below is a reconciliation of proceeds collected by the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility and distributed through the waterfall as shown above (in thousands): Face value collected in 2016 and distributed in 2017 $ 2,480 Face value collected in 2017 10,000 Other collections* 37 Total waterfall collection $ 12,517 Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017 (2,481 ) Total to be distributed subsequent to the quarter ended March 31, 2017 $ 10,036 *Includes refund of premiums and interest earned on maturity proceeds

Fair Value Measurements (Tables

Fair Value Measurements (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets And Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on Recurring Basis	The balances of the Company’s assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2017 , are as follows (in thousands): Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Fair Value Assets: Investment in life settlements $ — $ — $ 506,672 $ 506,672 $ — $ — $ 506,672 $ 506,672 The balances of the Company’s liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2017 are as follows (in thousands): Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Fair Value Liabilities: White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility $ — $ — $ 290,200 $ 290,200 $ — $ — $ 290,200 $ 290,200 The balances of the Company’s assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2016 , are as follows (in thousands): Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Fair Value Assets: Investment in life settlements $ — $ — $ 498,400 $ 498,400 $ — $ — $ 498,400 $ 498,400 The balances of the Company’s liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2016 , are as follows (in thousands): Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Fair Value Liabilities: White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility $ — $ — $ 257,085 $ 257,085 $ — $ — $ 257,085 $ 257,085
Quantitative Information about Level 3 Fair Value Measurements	($ in thousands) Quantitative Information about Level 3 Fair Value Measurements Fair Value Aggregate Valuation Technique Unobservable Input Range (Weighted Average) Non-premium financed $ 97,023 $311,557 Discounted cash flow Discount rate 15.00% - 18.00% Life expectancy evaluation (5.7 years) Premium financed $ 409,649 $2,597,319 Discounted cash flow Discount rate 16.00% - 21.00% Life expectancy evaluation (9.3 years) Life settlements $ 506,672 $2,908,876 Discounted cash flow Discount rate 16.37% Life expectancy evaluation (8.9 years) White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility $ 290,200 $2,896,876 Discounted cash flow Discount rate 18.38% Life expectancy evaluation (8.9 years)
Changes in Estimated Fair Value, If All of Insured Lives in Company's Life Settlement Portfolio Live Six Months Shorter or Longer Than Life Expectancies Provided by Third Parties	If all of the insured lives in the Company’s life settlement portfolio lived six months shorter or longer than the life expectancies provided by these third parties, the change in estimated fair value would be as follows (dollars in thousands): Life Expectancy Months Adjustment Value Change in Value +6 $ 423,376 $ (83,296 ) - $ 506,672 $ — -6 $ 594,453 $ 87,781
Life Insurance Issuer concentrations	The following table provides information about the life insurance issuer concentrations that exceed 10% of total death benefit and 10% of total fair value of the Company’s life settlements as of March 31, 2017 : Carrier Percentage of Total Fair Value Percentage of Total Death Benefit Moody's Rating S&P Rating Transamerica Life Insurance Company 18.7 % 20.9 % A1 AA- Lincoln National Life Insurance Company 22.0 % 19.4 % A1 AA-
Changes in Fair Value for All Assets Using Material Level of Unobservable (Level 3) Inputs	The following table provides a roll-forward in the changes in fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2017 , for all life settlement assets for which the Company determines fair value using a material level of unobservable (Level 3) inputs, which consists solely of life settlements (in thousands): Life Settlements: Balance, January 1, 2017 $ 498,400 Purchase of policies — Change in fair value 25,540 Matured/lapsed/sold policies (37,850 ) Premiums paid 20,582 Transfers into level 3 — Transfer out of level 3 — Balance, March 31, 2017 $ 506,672 Changes in fair value included in earnings for the period relating to assets held at March 31, 2017 $ 9,152 The following table provides a roll-forward in the changes in fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2016 , for all assets for which the Company determines fair value using a material level of unobservable (Level 3) inputs, which consists solely of life settlements (in thousands): Life Settlements: Balance, January 1, 2016 $ 461,925 Purchase of policies 1,374 Change in fair value 8,388 Matured/sold policies (12,980 ) Premiums paid 16,653 Transfers into level 3 — Transfers out of level 3 — Balance, March 31, 2016 $ 475,360 Changes in fair value included in earnings for the period relating to assets held at March 31, 2016 $ 103
Changes in Fair Value for All Liabilities Using Material Level of Unobservable (Level 3) Inputs	The following table provides a roll-forward in the changes in fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2016 , for the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility for which the Company determines fair value using a material level of unobservable (Level 3) inputs (in thousands): White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility: Balance, January 1, 2016 $ 169,131 Draws under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility 12,595 Payments on White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility (2,509 ) Unrealized change in fair value 3,094 Transfers into level 3 — Transfer out of level 3 — Balance, March 31, 2016 $ 182,311 Changes in fair value included in earnings for the period relating to liabilities at March 31, 2016 $ 3,094 The following table provides a roll-forward in the changes in fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2016 , for the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility for which the Company determines fair value using a material level of unobservable (Level 3) inputs (in thousands): Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility Balance, January 1, 2016 $ 55,658 Draws under the Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility 5,086 Payments on Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility (4,086 ) Unrealized change in fair value 1,002 Transfers into level 3 — Transfer out of level 3 — Balance, March 31, 2016 $ 57,660 Changes in fair value included in earnings for the period relating to liabilities held at March 31, 2016 $ 1,002 The following table provides a roll-forward in the changes in fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2017 , for the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility for which the Company determines fair value using a material level of unobservable (Level 3) inputs (in thousands): White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility: Balance, January 1, 2017 $ 257,085 Draws under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility 21,284 Payments on White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility — Unrealized change in fair value 11,831 Transfers into level 3 — Transfer out of level 3 — Balance, March 31, 2017 $ 290,200 Changes in fair value included in earnings for period relating to liabilities held at March 31, 2017 $ 11,831
Market Approach Valuation Technique
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Market Interest Rate Sensitivity Analysis	Weighted Average Rate Calculated Based on Death Benefit Rate Adjustment Value Change in Value 15.87% -0.50% $ 520,072 $ 13,400 16.37% — $ 506,672 $ — 16.87% +0.50% $ 493,824 $ (12,848 )
Market Approach Valuation Technique | Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Changes in Estimated Fair Value, If All of Insured Lives in Company's Life Settlement Portfolio Live Six Months Shorter or Longer Than Life Expectancies Provided by Third Parties	If all of the insured lives in the life settlement portfolio pledged under the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility live six months shorter or longer than the life expectancies used to calculate the estimated fair value of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility debt, the change in estimated fair value would be as follows (dollars in thousands): Life Expectancy Months Adjustment Fair Value of White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility Change in Value +6 $ 250,498 $ (39,702 ) $ 290,200 $ — -6 $ 336,371 $ 46,171
Market Interest Rate Sensitivity Analysis	If the weighted average discount rate were increased or decreased by 1/2 of 1% and the other assumptions used to estimate fair value remained the same, the change in estimated fair value of the White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility as of March 31, 2017 would be as follows (dollars in thousands): Discount Rate Rate Adjustment Fair Value of White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility Change in Value 17.88% -0.50 % $ 297,433 $ 7,233 18.38% — $ 290,200 $ — 18.88% +0.50 % $ 283,251 $ (6,949 )

Description of Business - Narra

Description of Business - Narrative (Detail)	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)contract	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)contractpolicy	Dec. 29, 2016USD ($)contract	Nov. 09, 2015USD ($)	Apr. 29, 2013USD ($)
Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]
Number of policies owned (contracts) | contract	617	621
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 506,672,000	$ 498,400,000
Life insurance policies with aggregate death benefit	$ 2,908,876,000	$ 2,946,511,000
Number of unencumbered policies	2	2
Revolving Credit Facility | Securities Not Pledged as Collateral
Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 708,000
Life insurance policies with aggregate death benefit	12,000,000
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility
Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility, current borrowing capacity	$ 287,400,000			$ 250,000,000	$ 300,000,000
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Securities Pledged as Collateral
Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]
Number of policies owned (contracts) | contract	615		190
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 506,000,000
Life insurance policies with aggregate death benefit	2,900,000,000
Revolving credit facility, current borrowing capacity	$ 370,000,000		$ 370,000,000

Principles of Consolidation a34

Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation - Narrative (Detail)

May 15, 2017USD ($)

Apr. 07, 2017USD ($)director$ / sharesshares

Oct. 25, 2013USD ($)

Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)contract$ / shares

Mar. 31, 2016USD ($)

Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)contractpolicy$ / shares

Mar. 15, 2017$ / shares

Dec. 29, 2016contract

Mar. 11, 2016

Jun. 30, 2015$ / shares

Feb. 28, 2014USD ($)

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Number of policies owned (contracts) | contract

617

621

Life insurance policies with aggregate death benefit

$ 2,908,876,000

$ 2,946,511,000

Life insurance estimated fair value

506,672,000

498,400,000

Net cash used in operating activities

(8,819,000)

$ (11,479,000)

(45,600,000)

Cash and cash equivalents, at carrying value

18,000,000

Certificates of deposit

1,004,000

6,025,000

[1]

Cash and cash equivalents

$ 2,100,000

$ 2,246,000

[1]

Number of unencumbered policies

2

2

Common stock, par value (usd per share) | $ / shares

$ 0.01

$ 0.01

[1]

Common stock issued

$ (26,000)

Exercise price of warrants (usd per share) | $ / shares

$ 10.75

Sale of structured settlement business

$ 12,000,000

8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Stated interest rate

8.50%

8.50%

Debt instrument issued

$ 74,220,450

$ 70,700,000

Primary Beneficiary

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Cash and cash equivalents

15,923,000

$ 9,072,000

[1]

Master Transaction Agreement | PJC

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Common stock, par value (usd per share) | $ / shares

$ 0.01

Common Stock

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Common stock issued

$ 1,800,000

Subsequent Event | Master Transaction Agreement | PJC

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Percentage of senior debt to be purchased, maximum

100.00%

Number of board of directors | director

4

Subsequent Event | Master Transaction Agreement | PJC and Other Purchasers

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Percentage of outstanding principal held

98.00%

Subsequent Event | Master Transaction Agreement | Existing Note Holders

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Number of board of directors | director

1

Subsequent Event | Participation Agreement | PJC

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Percentage of senior debt to be purchased, maximum

100.00%

Subsequent Event | Participation Agreement | Consenting Note Holders

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Percentage of senior debt to be purchased, maximum

100.00%

Percentage of senior debt to be paid

5.00%

Percentage of senior debt to be sold in event of election not to launch

100.00%

Subsequent Event | Common Stock | Master Transaction Agreement | PJC

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Common stock issued

$ 15,000,000

Subsequent Event | Callable Warrant for Common Stock | Master Transaction Agreement | PJC

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Warrants issued (in shares) | shares

40,000,000

Exercise price of warrants (usd per share) | $ / shares

$ 0.20

Proceeds from issuance of warrants

$ 8,000,000

Revolving Credit Facility | White Eagle

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Certificates of deposit

10,000,000

Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity

$ 87,323,095.50

Revolving Credit Facility | White Eagle | Securities Pledged as Collateral

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Number of policies owned (contracts) | contract

615

190

Life insurance policies with aggregate death benefit

$ 2,900,000,000

Life insurance estimated fair value

$ 506,000,000

15.0% Senior Secured Notes | Senior Secured Notes

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Stated interest rate

15.00%

15.00%

Debt instrument issued

$ 30,000,000

15.0% Senior Secured Notes | Subsequent Event | Senior Secured Notes

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Stated interest rate

15.00%

8.5% Senior Notes Due 2021 | Subsequent Event | Senior Secured Notes

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Stated interest rate

8.50%

Senior debt to be purchased period

5 days

Debt instrument issued

$ 40,000,000

Line of Credit | PJC Promissory Note | Bridge Note | Subsequent Event

Organization and Nature of Operations [Line Items]

Stated interest rate

15.00%

Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity

$ 1,500,000

Default interest rate

17.00%

Event of default termination fee

$ 1,500,000

[1]

Derived from audited consolidated financial statements.

Consolidation of Variable Int35

Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Primary Beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Primary beneficiary consolidated VIEs, assets	$ 554,737	$ 511,792
Primary beneficiary consolidated VIEs, liabilities	290,883	257,678
Not Primary Beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Not primary beneficiary consolidated VIE, total assets	2,384	2,384
Not primary beneficiary consolidated VIE, maximum exposure to loss	$ 2,384	$ 2,384

Consolidation of Variable Int36

Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities - Narrative (Detail) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)contract	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)contract	Dec. 29, 2016contract
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Number of policies owned (contracts) | contract	617	621
Life insurance policies with aggregate death benefit	$ 2,908,876	$ 2,946,511
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 506,672	$ 498,400
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Securities Pledged as Collateral
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Number of policies owned (contracts) | contract	615		190
Life insurance policies with aggregate death benefit	$ 2,900,000
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 506,000

Earnings Per Share - Narrative

Earnings Per Share - Narrative (Detail) - shares	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	[1]	Mar. 31, 2016
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Common stock, shares issued (shares)	29,021,844	29,021,844		28,130,508
Common stock, shares outstanding (shares)	28,413,844	28,413,844		27,522,508
Treasury stock (shares)	608,000	608,000		608,000
[1]	Derived from audited consolidated financial statements.

Earnings Per Share - Reconcilia

Earnings Per Share - Reconciliation (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Numerator:
Net income (loss) from continuing operations	$ 1,884	$ (7,445)
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations	(189)	(68)
Net income (loss)	$ 1,695	$ (7,513)
Basic and diluted income (loss) per common share:
Basic and diluted income (loss) from continuing operations (usd per share)	$ 0.07	$ (0.27)
Basic and diluted income (loss) from discontinued operations (usd per share)	(0.01)	0
Basic and diluted income (loss) per share available to common shareholders (usd per share)	$ 0.06	$ (0.27)
Denominator:
Basic and diluted (shares)	28,148,632	27,481,249

Earnings Per Share - Reconcil39

Earnings Per Share - Reconciliation Additional Information (Detail) - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Restricted Stock
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of diluted earnings per share (shares)	265,212	41,259
Stock Option
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of diluted earnings per share (shares)	605,227	763,594
Warrant
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of diluted earnings per share (shares)	6,240,521	6,240,521
Convertible Debt Securities | Maximum
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of diluted earnings per share (shares)	11,266,011	10,738,165
Performance Shares
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of diluted earnings per share (shares)		319,500

Stock-based Compensation - Narr

Stock-based Compensation - Narrative (Detail)	Feb. 11, 2011shareholder$ / sharesshares	Oct. 31, 2014$ / shares	Apr. 30, 2014USD ($)shares	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)$ / sharesshares	Mar. 31, 2016USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)$ / shares	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)$ / sharesshares	Dec. 31, 2014shares
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Options outstanding and unexercised (shares) | shares				605,227			763,594
Options outstanding and unexercised, weighted average price (usd per share) | $ / shares				$ 8.66			$ 8.52
Remaining unamortized amounts | $				$ 0
Options outstanding, weighted average remaining contractual term				2 years 1 month 19 days			2 years 5 months 19 days
Warrants issued (shares) | shares			2,000,000
Exercise price of warrants (usd per share) | $ / shares						$ 10.75
Estimated fair value of warrants | $						$ 5,400,000
Common stock warrants term						5 years
USAO Investigation
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Exercise price of warrants (usd per share) | $ / shares		$ 10.75
Litigation settlement, shares to escrow (shares) | shares			2,000,000
Estimated fair value of warrants | $			$ 5,400,000
Common stock warrants term		5 years
Including Overallotment Option
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Exercise price of warrants (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 14.51
Warrant expiration period	7 years
Minimum
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Average daily trading closing price (usd per share) | $ / shares						$ 8.50
Average daily trading closing price, period						45 days
Minimum | USAO Investigation
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Average daily trading closing price (usd per share) | $ / shares		$ 8.50
Average daily trading closing price, period		45 days
Maximum | Including Overallotment Option
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shareholders | shareholder	3
Warrants issued (shares) | shares	4,240,521			4,240,521
Stock Options | Omnibus Plan
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares of common stock reserved for future grant (shares) | shares				2,700,000
Options outstanding and unexercised (shares) | shares				605,227
Options outstanding and unexercised, weighted average price (usd per share) | $ / shares				$ 8.66
Stock-based compensation expense | $				$ 0	$ 0
Restricted Stock
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense | $				$ 139,000	60,100
Stock vested (shares) | shares				0
Stock granted (shares) | shares				0
Restricted Stock | Omnibus Plan
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Fair value of stock granted | $							$ 255,000
Stock granted (shares) | shares				265,212
Restricted Stock | Omnibus Plan | Restricted Stock Two
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense | $				$ 0	60,100
Restricted Stock | Omnibus Plan | Directors
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense | $				60,000	0
Stock granted (shares) | shares							65,212
Stock vesting period							1 year
Restricted stock, aggregate intrinsic value | $							$ 255,000
Aggregate intrinsic value | $				$ 19,000
Options outstanding, weighted average remaining contractual term				1 month 31 days
Restricted Stock | Omnibus Plan | Certain Employees
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense | $				$ 79,000	0
Stock granted (shares) | shares				200,000			200,000
Stock vesting period				2 years
Restricted stock, aggregate intrinsic value | $							$ 674,000
Aggregate intrinsic value | $				$ 60,000
Options outstanding, weighted average remaining contractual term				1 year 2 months 23 days
Performance Shares | Omnibus Plan
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense | $					$ 0
Stock granted (shares) | shares								323,500
Stock granted, subject to shareholders' approval of an amended and restated of plan (shares) | shares								150,000
Performance Shares | Omnibus Plan | Minimum
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Actual shares to be issued								0.00%
Performance Shares | Omnibus Plan | Maximum
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Actual shares to be issued								150.00%
Common Stock | Restricted Stock | Omnibus Plan
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock vested (shares) | shares							41,259

Stock-based Compensation - Comm

Stock-based Compensation - Common Stock Options Activity (Detail) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Number of Shares
Options outstanding, Beginning Balance (shares)	763,594
Options granted (shares)	0
Options exercised (shares)	0
Options forfeited (shares)	(158,367)
Options expired (shares)	0
Options outstanding, Ending Balance (shares)	605,227	763,594
Exercisable at end of period (shares)	605,227
Unvested at end of period (shares)	0
Weighted Average Exercise Price per Share
Options outstanding, Beginning Balance (usd per share)	$ 8.52
Options granted (usd per share)	0
Options exercised (usd per share)	0
Options forfeited (usd per share)	8
Options expired (usd per share)	0
Options outstanding, Ending Balance (usd per share)	8.66	$ 8.52
Exercisable at end of period (usd per share)	8.66
Unvested at end of period (usd per share)	$ 0
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term
Options outstanding, weighted average remaining contractual term	2 years 1 month 19 days	2 years 5 months 19 days
Exercisable, weighted average remaining contractual term	2 years 1 month 19 days
Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Options outstanding, Beginning Balance	$ 0
Options granted
Options exercised
Options forfeited
Options expired
Options outstanding, Ending Balance	0	$ 0
Exercisable at end of period
Unvested at end of period	$ 0

Stock-based Compensation - Acti

Stock-based Compensation - Activity of Unvested Shares of Restricted Stock (Detail) - Restricted Stock	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017shares
Number of Shares
Common unvested shares outstanding, Beginning Balance (shares)	265,212
Granted (shares)	0
Vested (shares)	0
Forfeited (shares)	0
Common unvested shares outstanding, Ending Balance (shares)	265,212

Discontinued Operations - Opera

Discontinued Operations - Operating Results of Structured Settlement Business (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016	Aug. 18, 2015
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Income (loss) before income taxes	$ (189)	$ (68)
Income tax benefit	0	0
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations	(189)	(68)
Discontinued operations, disposed of by sale
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Consideration for discontinued operation			$ 920
Total income	3	3
Total expenses	192	71
Income (loss) before income taxes	(189)	(68)
Income tax benefit		0
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations	$ (189)	$ (68)

Life Settlements (Life Insura44

Life Settlements (Life Insurance Policies) - Narrative (Detail) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)contract	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)contract
Investments, All Other Investments [Abstract]
Number of policies owned (contracts) | contract	617	621
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 506,672	$ 498,400
Average life expectancy of insured	8 years 10 months 23 days	9 years
Estimated future premium payments	$ 1,305,603

Life Settlements (Life Insura45

Life Settlements (Life Insurance Policies) - Schedule of Life Settlements (Detail) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)contract	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)contract
Number of Life Settlement Contracts
0-1 | contract	4	4
1-2 | contract	16	14
2-3 | contract	12	14
3-4 | contract	39	31
4-5 | contract	38	40
Thereafter | contract	508	518
Total | contract	617	621
Estimated Fair Value
0-1	$ 16,367	$ 16,280
1-2	38,602	35,019
2-3	20,840	31,300
3-4	61,945	44,096
4-5	54,588	57,792
Thereafter	314,330	313,913
Total	506,672	498,400
Face Value
0-1	19,721	19,497
1-2	57,093	52,093
2-3	43,374	57,274
3-4	153,992	114,449
4-5	172,558	172,157
Thereafter	2,462,138	2,531,041
Total	$ 2,908,876	$ 2,946,511

Life Settlements (Life Insura46

Life Settlements (Life Insurance Policies) - Estimated Premiums to be Paid (Detail) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)
Investments, All Other Investments [Abstract]
Remainder of 2017	$ 63,155
2,018	85,648
2,019	92,666
2,020	96,339
2,021	96,537
Thereafter	871,258
Estimated future premium payments	$ 1,305,603

White Eagle Revolving Credit 47

White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility - Narrative (Detail)	Dec. 30, 2016	Dec. 29, 2016USD ($)contract	Mar. 11, 2016USD ($)	Nov. 09, 2015USD ($)	Apr. 29, 2013USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)contract	Mar. 31, 2016USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)contract		Feb. 28, 2014USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Number of policies owned (contracts) | contract						617		621
Life insurance policies with aggregate death benefit						$ 2,908,876,000		$ 2,946,511,000
Life insurance estimated fair value						506,672,000		498,400,000
Interest paid						4,370,000	$ 6,409,000
Interest expense on the facility						7,535,000	6,050,000
Restricted cash						1,004,000		$ 6,025,000	[1]
Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt						$ 290,200,000
White Eagle Asset Portfolio, LLC | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Cash interest coverage ratio required, Minimum						2
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility effective date					Apr. 29, 2013
Revolving credit facility period					15 years
Revolving credit facility, current borrowing capacity				$ 250,000,000	$ 300,000,000	$ 287,400,000
Interest rate increase				0.50%
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity						87,323,095.50
Line of credit facility, remaining borrowing capacity						$ 4,700,000
Cash interest coverage ratio required, Minimum						2
Cash sweep percentage required						100.00%
Cash interest coverage ratio, Actual						1.76
Cash sweep percentage, Actual						59.00%
Collateral pledge percentage for distributions to be altered						25.00%
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017						$ 2,481,000
Premium payment proceeds						20,800,000	12,200,000
Fees to service providers						$ 525,000	$ 414,000
Base rate						0.50%
Debt instrument effective rate						6.19%	6.00%
Interest paid						$ 3,200,000
Interest expense on the facility							$ 2,400,000
Credit agreement expiration date						Dec. 31, 2031
Fair value of outstanding debt						$ 290,200,000
Revolving credit facility debt, outstanding						282,700,000
Restricted cash						$ 10,000,000
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Maintenance costs
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit borrowing base percentage						100.00%
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Accrued and Unpaid Interest
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit borrowing base percentage						100.00%
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Other fees and expense
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit borrowing base percentage						100.00%
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Policies pledged as collateral as determined by the lenders
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit borrowing base percentage						75.00%
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Policies pledged as collateral excluding certain specified life insurance policies
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit borrowing base percentage						50.00%
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Securities Pledged as Collateral
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility, current borrowing capacity		$ 370,000,000				$ 370,000,000
Number of policies owned (contracts) | contract		190				615
Borrowings from revolving credit facility		$ 71,100,000
Life insurance policies with aggregate death benefit						$ 2,900,000,000
Life insurance estimated fair value						$ 506,000,000
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Applicable Margin
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate				1.50%		4.50%
Interest rate floor				4.00%
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Federal Funds Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate						0.75%
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Floor Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	1.69%			1.50%		1.50%
Minimum | White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio						45.00%
Fifth | White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Borrowings from revolving credit facility						$ 782,000
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017						$ 2,412,000
After June 30, 2019 | White Eagle Asset Portfolio, LLC | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Cash interest coverage ratio required, Minimum						1.75
Cash interest coverage ratio required number of consecutive days						60 days
Senior Secured Notes | 15.0% Senior Secured Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument issued						$ 30,000,000
Stated interest rate			15.00%			15.00%
Basis spread on variable rate			50.00%
Senior Secured Notes | 15.0% Senior Secured Notes | Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument issued			$ 30,000,000
8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument issued						$ 74,220,450				$ 70,700,000
Stated interest rate						8.50%				8.50%
[1]	Derived from audited consolidated financial statements.

White Eagle Revolving Credit 48

White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility - Payouts based on LTV (Details) - Revolving Credit Facility	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
White Eagle Amendment | LTV N/A
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Collections from policy proceeds percentage	0.00%
White Eagle Amendment | LTV greater than 65%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Collections from policy proceeds percentage	0.00%
White Eagle Amendment | LTV 50-65%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Collections from policy proceeds percentage	13.50%
White Eagle Amendment | LTV 35-50%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Collections from policy proceeds percentage	20.30%
White Eagle Amendment | LTV 0-35%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Collections from policy proceeds percentage	24.80%
White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV N/A
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Premiums, Interest & Other Fees	100.00%
Line of credit, percentage of remaining outstanding balance	0.00%
Collections from policy proceeds percentage	0.00%
White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV greater than 65%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, percentage of remaining outstanding balance	100.00%
Collections from policy proceeds percentage	0.00%
White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV 50-65%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, percentage of remaining outstanding balance	70.00%
Collections from policy proceeds percentage	16.50%
White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV 35-50%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, percentage of remaining outstanding balance	55.00%
Collections from policy proceeds percentage	24.80%
White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV 0-35%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, percentage of remaining outstanding balance	45.00%
Collections from policy proceeds percentage	30.30%
Minimum | White Eagle
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio	45.00%
Minimum | White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV greater than 65%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio	65.00%
Minimum | White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV 50-65%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio	50.00%
Minimum | White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV 35-50%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio	35.00%
Minimum | White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV 0-35%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio	0.00%
Maximum | White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV 50-65%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio	65.00%
Maximum | White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV 35-50%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio	50.00%
Maximum | White Eagle | White Eagle Amendment | LTV 0-35%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio	35.00%

White Eagle Revolving Credit 49

White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility - Distribution of Proceeds (Details) - White Eagle - Revolving Credit Facility	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	$ 2,481,000
First:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	59,000
Second:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	0
Third:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	0
Fourth:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	10,000
Fifth:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	2,412,000
Sixth:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	0
Seventh:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	0
Eighth:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	0
Ninth:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	0
Use of proceeds reserved	0
Tenth:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	0
Eleventh:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	0
Twelfth:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	0
Thirteenth:
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	$ 0

White Eagle Revolving Credit 50

White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility - Reconciliation of Proceeds Distributed (Details) - White Eagle - Revolving Credit Facility $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face value collected in 2016 and distributed in 2017	$ 2,480
Face value collected in 2017	10,000
Other collections	37
Total waterfall collection	12,517
Less: Total waterfall distribution during the three months ended March 31, 2017	(2,481)
Total to be distributed subsequent to the quarter ended March 31, 2017	$ 10,036

Red Falcon Revolving Credit F51

Red Falcon Revolving Credit Facility - Narrative (Details)	Dec. 29, 2016USD ($)	Jul. 15, 2016USD ($)policy	Jul. 16, 2015USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest expense				$ 7,535,000	$ 6,050,000
Red Falcon Trust | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility effective date			Jul. 16, 2015
Repayments of long-term debt	$ 65,100,000
Revolving credit facility, current borrowing capacity			$ 110,000,000
Yield maintenance provision.			5.00%	5.00%
Total to be distributed subsequent to the quarter ended March 31, 2017			8.00%	8.00%
Borrowings from revolving credit facility			$ 54,000,000	$ 0	5,061,000
Basis spread on variable rate			0.50%
Interest expense					$ 1,000,000
Revolving credit facility debt, outstanding				$ 0
Red Falcon Trust | Revolving Credit Facility | Applicable Margin
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate			4.50%
Red Falcon Trust | Revolving Credit Facility | Floor Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate			1.00%
Red Falcon Trust | Revolving Credit Facility | Federal Funds Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate			0.75%
Red Falcon Trust | Maintenance costs | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit borrowing base percentage			100.00%
Red Falcon Trust | Policies pledged as collateral as determined by the lenders | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit borrowing base percentage			60.00%
Red Falcon Trust | Policies pledged as collateral excluding certain specified life insurance policies | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit borrowing base percentage			45.00%
Less than 50% but greater than or equal to 25% | Red Falcon Trust | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, percentage of remaining outstanding balance			65.00%
Less than 25% | Red Falcon Trust | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, percentage of remaining outstanding balance			35.00%
Minimum | Equal to or greater than 50% | Red Falcon Trust | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio			50.00%
Minimum | Less than 50% but greater than or equal to 25% | Red Falcon Trust | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio			25.00%
Maximum | Less than 50% but greater than or equal to 25% | Red Falcon Trust | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio			50.00%
Maximum | Less than 25% | Red Falcon Trust | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio			25.00%
Red Falcon | Securities Pledged as Collateral | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument term			5 years
First Amendment to Revolving Loan and Security Agreement | Red Falcon | Securities Pledged as Collateral | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Number of additional policies | policy		6
Number of policies amended | policy		20
Increase in borrowing capacity		$ 3,000,000
12.875% Senior Secured Notes Due 2017 | Securities Pledged as Collateral | Indaba Capital Management Lp
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Stated interest rate				12.875%

8.50% Senior Unsecured Conver52

8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes - Narrative (Detail)

Apr. 18, 2017USD ($)$ / shares

Mar. 14, 2017USD ($)

Feb. 21, 2014

Feb. 28, 2014USD ($)ddirector$ / shares

Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)

Mar. 31, 2016USD ($)

Jun. 30, 2015$ / sharesshares

Jun. 30, 2015$ / shares

Apr. 07, 2017director

Feb. 14, 2017

Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)

[1]

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Common stock issued for rights offering, net of costs (shares) | shares

6,688,433

Interest Paid in Kind on Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes

$ 3,477,000

$ 0

Convertible Notes

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Convertible Notes, net of discount

65,002,000

$ 60,535,000

8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Debt instrument issued

$ 70,700,000

$ 74,220,450

Stated interest rate

8.50%

8.50%

Debt instrument, convertible, conversion rate

0.1479290

8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes | Convertible Notes

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Debt instrument issued

$ 70,743,000

Stated interest rate

8.50%

Debt instrument, due date

2,019

Debt instrument, issuance date

Feb. 21, 2014

Number of board of directors | director

2

Debt instrument, maturity date

Feb. 15, 2019

Debt instrument, frequency of periodic payment

semi-annually in arrears on August 15 and February 15 of each year

Debt instrument, convertible, conversion rate

0.1517912

Debt instrument, conversion price (usd per share) | $ / shares

$ 6.76

$ 6.59

$ 6.59

Common stock issued for rights offering, net of costs (shares) | shares

6,688,433

Debt instrument, redemption start date

Feb. 15, 2017

Debt instrument, convertible, minimum percentage of common stock price

130.00%

Debt instrument, convertible, threshold trading days | d

20

Debt instrument, convertible, threshold consecutive trading days

30 days

Debt instrument, redemption price, percentage

100.00%

Convertible Notes, net of discount

$ 65,000,000

Unamortized debt discount

8,000,000

Debt instrument origination cost

1,200,000

Interest expense of notes

3,100,000

$ 2,400,000

Interest

2,100,000

1,500,000

Amortizing debt discounts

862,000

750,000

Payments of debt issuance costs

$ 128,000

111,000

Interest Paid in Kind on Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes

$ 522,000

8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes | Convertible Notes | Bulldog Investors Llc

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Debt instrument issued

$ 9,200,000

Additional 8.50% Convertible Notes | Convertible Notes

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Debt instrument issued

$ 3,477,450

Stated interest rate

8.50%

Percentage of aggregate principal amount of convertible notes

98.00%

Subsequent Event | 8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes | Convertible Notes

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Stated interest rate

8.50%

Convertible Notes, net of discount

$ 74,200,000

Subsequent Event | 5.0% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes Due 2023 | Convertible Notes

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Debt instrument issued

$ 74,200,000

Stated interest rate

5.00%

Debt instrument, convertible, conversion rate

0.5

Debt instrument, conversion price (usd per share) | $ / shares

$ 0.20

Debt instrument term

6 years

Subsequent Event | Exchange Offers | Existing Note Holders

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Percentage of holders tendering exchange offer, minimum

98.00%

Subsequent Event | Master Transaction Agreement | Existing Note Holders

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Number of board of directors | director

1

Subsequent Event | Master Transaction Agreement | PJC

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Number of board of directors | director

4

Subsequent Event | Master Transaction Agreement | 5.0% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes Due 2023 | Convertible Notes | PJC

Debt Instrument [Line Items]

Debt instrument issued

$ 75,000,000

[1]

Derived from audited consolidated financial statements.

15.00% Senior Secured Notes - N

15.00% Senior Secured Notes - Narrative (Details) - USD ($)	Apr. 07, 2017	Mar. 11, 2016	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 24, 2016
Senior Secured Notes | 15.0% Senior Secured Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Stated interest rate		15.00%	15.00%
Debt instrument issued			$ 30,000,000
Debt issued		$ 21,200,000			$ 8,800,000
Debt instrument, redemption price, percentage		100.00%
Basis spread on variable rate		50.00%
Change of control redemption, percent		107.50%
Debt covenant, percent of equity interests pledged as collateral		65.00%
Unamortized debt issuance expense			613,000
Interest expense			1,200,000	$ 279,000
Interest			1,100,000	215,000
Amortizing debt discounts			$ 90,000	$ 65,000
Maximum | Senior Secured Notes | 15.0% Senior Secured Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument issued		$ 30,000,000
Board of Directors and Management | Senior Secured Notes | 15.0% Senior Secured Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt sold in private transaction		$ 3,300,000
Subsequent Event | Senior Secured Notes | 15.0% Senior Secured Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Stated interest rate	15.00%
Subsequent Event | Senior Secured Notes | 8.5% Senior Notes Due 2021
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Stated interest rate	8.50%
Debt instrument issued	$ 40,000,000
Debt instrument term	4 years
Subsequent Event | Participation Agreement | Consenting Note Holders
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Percentage of senior debt to be purchased, maximum	100.00%
Percentage of senior debt to be paid	5.00%
Subsequent Event | Participation Agreement | PJC
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Percentage of senior debt to be purchased, maximum	100.00%
Subsequent Event | New Senior Note Indenture | Existing Note Holders | Senior Secured Notes | 8.5% Senior Notes Due 2021
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument issued	$ 30,000,000
Subsequent Event | New Senior Note Indenture | PJC | Senior Secured Notes | 8.5% Senior Notes Due 2021
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument issued	$ 10,000,000

Fair Value Measurements - Asset

Fair Value Measurements - Assets And Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on Recurring Basis (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Investment in life settlements	$ 506,672	$ 498,400
Total assets	506,672	498,400
Total liabilities	290,200	257,085
Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Investment in life settlements	0	0
Total assets	0	0
Total liabilities	0	0
Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Investment in life settlements	0	0
Total assets	0	0
Total liabilities	0	0
Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Investment in life settlements	506,672	498,400
Total assets	506,672	498,400
Total liabilities	290,200	257,085
White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt	290,200	257,085
White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt	0	0
White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt	0	0
White Eagle Revolving Credit Facility | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt	290,200	$ 257,085
Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt	$ 290,200

Fair Value Measurements - Quant

Fair Value Measurements - Quantitative Information about Level 3 Fair Value Measurements (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 506,672	$ 498,400
Aggregate death benefit	$ 2,908,876	2,946,511
Weighted average discount rate	16.37%
Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt	$ 290,200
Discount rate	18.38%
Minimum | Non Premium Financed
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate	15.00%
Minimum | Premium Financed
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate	16.00%
Maximum | Non Premium Financed
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate	18.00%
Maximum | Premium Financed
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate	21.00%
Level 3
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 506,672	$ 498,400
Level 3 | Life Finance
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Life insurance estimated fair value	506,672
Aggregate death benefit	$ 2,908,876
Valuation Technique	Discounted cash flow
Weighted average life expectancy valuation period	8 years 10 months 24 days
Weighted average discount rate	16.37%
Level 3 | Life Finance | Non Premium Financed
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 97,023
Aggregate death benefit	$ 311,557
Valuation Technique	Discounted cash flow
Weighted average life expectancy valuation period	5 years 8 months 12 days
Level 3 | Life Finance | Premium Financed
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 409,649
Aggregate death benefit	$ 2,597,319
Valuation Technique	Discounted cash flow
Weighted average life expectancy valuation period	9 years 3 months 18 days
Level 3 | Minimum | Life Finance | Non Premium Financed
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate	15.00%
Level 3 | Minimum | Life Finance | Premium Financed
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate	16.00%
Level 3 | Maximum | Life Finance | Non Premium Financed
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate	18.00%
Level 3 | Maximum | Life Finance | Premium Financed
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate	21.00%
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt	$ 290,200
White Eagle | Level 3 | Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt	290,200
Aggregate death benefit	$ 2,896,876
Valuation Technique	Discounted cash flow
Weighted average life expectancy valuation period	8 years 10 months 24 days
Weighted average discount rate	18.38%

Fair Value Measurements - Narra

Fair Value Measurements - Narrative (Detail)	Jul. 16, 2015	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)carriercontractpolicy	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)contract		Dec. 29, 2016contract	Feb. 28, 2014
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Mortality rate		100.00%
Number of life insurance policies (contracts) | contract		617	621
Life insurance estimated fair value		$ 506,672,000	$ 498,400,000
Weighted average discount rate		16.37%
Noninvestment grade
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Number of life insurance policies (contracts) | policy		19
Number of carriers related to non-investment grade policies | carrier		3
Additional basis points		3.00%
Premium Financed
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Number of life insurance policies (contracts) | contract		536
Premium Financed | Minimum
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate		16.00%
Premium Financed | Maximum
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate		21.00%
Non Premium Financed
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Number of life insurance policies (contracts) | contract		81
Non Premium Financed | Minimum
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate		15.00%
Non Premium Financed | Maximum
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate		18.00%
Impaired life bearing
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Mortality rate		200.00%
Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Discount rate		18.38%
Fair value of outstanding debt		$ 290,200,000
Revolving Credit Facility | Red Falcon Trust
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility debt, outstanding		$ 0
Yield maintenance provision.	5.00%	5.00%
Total to be distributed subsequent to the quarter ended March 31, 2017	8.00%	8.00%
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt		$ 290,200,000
Revolving credit facility debt, outstanding		$ 282,700,000
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Minimum
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Line of credit, loan to value ratio		45.00%
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility | Securities Pledged as Collateral
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Number of life insurance policies (contracts) | contract		615			190
Life insurance estimated fair value		$ 506,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility | Primary Beneficiary
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt		$ 290,200,000	$ 257,085,000	[1]
8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes | Convertible Notes
Fair Value, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]
Stated interest rate						8.50%
[1]	Derived from audited consolidated financial statements.

Fair Value Measurements - Chang

Fair Value Measurements - Changes in Life Expectancy Used to Estimate Fair Value (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Value	$ 506,672	$ 498,400
Change in Value	0
+6 Life Expectancy Months Adjustment
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Value	423,376
Change in Value	(83,296)
-6 Life Expectancy Months Adjustment
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Value	594,453
Change in Value	$ 87,781

Fair Value Measurements - Life

Fair Value Measurements - Life Insurance Issuer Concentrations (Detail) - Credit Concentration Risk - Moody's, A1 Rating - Standard & Poor's, AA- Rating	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Transamerica Life Insurance Company | Percentage of Total Fair Value
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Concentrations risk percentage	18.70%
Transamerica Life Insurance Company | Percentage of Total Death Benefit
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Concentrations risk percentage	20.90%
Lincoln National Life Insurance Company | Percentage of Total Fair Value
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Concentrations risk percentage	22.00%
Lincoln National Life Insurance Company | Percentage of Total Death Benefit
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Concentrations risk percentage	19.40%

Fair Value Measurements - Cha59

Fair Value Measurements - Changes in Weighted Average Discount Rate Used to Estimate Fair Value (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Weighted average discount rate	16.37%
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 506,672	$ 498,400
Change in Value	$ 0
.50% Decrease in Discount Rate
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Weighted average discount rate	15.87%
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 520,072
Change in Value	$ 13,400
.50% Increase in Discount Rate
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Weighted average discount rate	16.87%
Life insurance estimated fair value	$ 493,824
Change in Value	$ (12,848)

Fair Value Measurements - Cha60

Fair Value Measurements - Changes in Life Expectancy Used to Estimate Fair Value of Revolving Credit Facility (Detail) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Change in Value	$ 0
Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt	290,200
Change in Value	0
+6 Life Expectancy Months Adjustment | Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt	250,498
Change in Value	(39,702)
-6 Life Expectancy Months Adjustment | Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of outstanding debt	336,371
Change in Value	$ 46,171

Fair Value Measurements - Cha61

Fair Value Measurements - Changes in Weighted Average Discount Rate Used to Estimate Fair Value of Revolving Credit Facility (Detail) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Change in Value	$ 0
Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Discount Rate	18.38%
Fair value of outstanding debt	$ 290,200
Change in Value	$ 0
.50% Decrease in Discount Rate | Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Discount Rate	17.88%
Fair value of outstanding debt	$ 297,433
Change in Value	$ 7,233
.50% Increase in Discount Rate | Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Discount Rate	18.88%
Fair value of outstanding debt	$ 283,251
Change in Value	$ (6,949)

Fair Value Measurements - Cha62

Fair Value Measurements - Changes in Fair Value for All Assets and Liabilities Using Material Level of Unobservable (Level 3) Inputs (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Life Finance
Fair Value, Assets, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$ 498,400	$ 461,925
Purchase of policies	0	1,374
Change in fair value	25,540	8,388
Matured/lapsed/sold policies	(37,850)	(12,980)
Premiums paid	20,582	16,653
Transfers into level 3	0	0
Transfer out of level 3	0	0
Ending balance	506,672	475,360
Changes in fair value included in earnings for the period relating to assets held	9,152	103
White Eagle | Revolving Credit Facility
Revolving Credit Facility:
Beginning balance	257,085	169,131
Draws under the Revolving Credit Facility	21,284	12,595
Payments on Revolving Credit Facility	0	(2,509)
Unrealized change in fair value	11,831	3,094
Transfers into level 3	0	0
Transfer out of level 3	0	0
Ending balance	290,200	182,311
Changes in fair value included in earnings for period relating to liabilities held	$ 11,831	3,094
Revolving Credit Facility
Fair Value, Assets, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Roll Forward]
Transfers into level 3		0
Revolving Credit Facility | Red Falcon Trust
Revolving Credit Facility:
Beginning balance		55,658
Draws under the Revolving Credit Facility		5,086
Payments on Revolving Credit Facility		(4,086)
Unrealized change in fair value		1,002
Transfer out of level 3		0
Ending balance		57,660
Changes in fair value included in earnings for period relating to liabilities held		$ 1,002

Commitments and Contingencies -

Commitments and Contingencies - Narrative (Detail)	Jul. 29, 2013USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016USD ($)	Apr. 18, 2013contract
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Lease expiration date		Sep. 30, 2020
Annual base rent		$ 239,000
Percentage of annual increase of base rent		3.00%
Rent expense under operating lease		$ 106,000	$ 104,000
Operating leases, remainder of year ended		181,000
Indemnification expenses		$ 0	$ 178,000
Pending Litigation
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of policies | contract				28
Pending Litigation | Minimum
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Compensatory damages sought in addition to an award of punitive damages	$ 30,000,000
Chief Executive Officer
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Employment agreement, base salary multiplier		300.00%
Employment agreement, average of preceding years cash bonus		3 years

Stockholders' Equity - Narrativ

Stockholders' Equity - Narrative (Detail)	May 15, 2017	Apr. 07, 2017USD ($)director$ / sharesshares	Sep. 01, 2015USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2014shares	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)$ / sharesshares	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)$ / sharesshares	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)$ / sharesshares		Mar. 15, 2017$ / shares	Mar. 14, 2016USD ($)	Mar. 11, 2016
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Common stock issued for rights offering, net of costs (shares)						6,688,433
Shares Issued, price per share (usd per share) | $ / shares						$ 5.75
Warrants issued (shares)				2,000,000
Estimated fair value of warrants | $						$ 5,400,000
Common stock warrants term						5 years
Exercise price of warrants (usd per share) | $ / shares						$ 10.75
Options outstanding (shares)					605,227		763,594
Share and note repurchase program, authorized amount | $			$ 10,000,000
Stock repurchase program, term of plan			2 years
Cost of shares acquired | $					$ 2,534,000		$ 2,534,000	[1]
Average cost per share (usd per share) | $ / shares							$ 4.17
Remaining authorized amount | $					7,500,000
Common stock issued | $					$ (26,000)
Common stock, par value (usd per share) | $ / shares					$ 0.01		$ 0.01	[1]
Restricted Stock
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Stock granted (shares)					0
Minimum
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Average daily trading closing price (usd per share) | $ / shares						$ 8.50
Average daily trading closing price, period						45 days
Common Stock
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Common stock issued for rights offering, net of costs (shares)							628,309
Shares Issued, price per share (usd per share) | $ / shares							$ 3
Common stock issued | $							$ 1,800,000
Commissions | $							$ 56,600
Common Stock | Maximum
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Sale of stock, aggregate offering price | $										$ 50,000,000
Stock issuance costs, commission rate										3.00%
Treasury Stock
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of diluted earnings per share (shares)							608,000
Omnibus Plan
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Securities remaining for future issuance (in shares)					1,712,690
Omnibus Plan | Stock Options
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Shares of common stock reserved for future grant (shares)					2,700,000
Options outstanding (shares)					605,227
Omnibus Plan | Restricted Stock
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Number of common stock reserved for issuance (shares)					116,871
Stock granted (shares)					265,212
Senior Secured Notes
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Minimum cash and cash equivalents to repurchase common stock | $					$ 20,000,000
15.0% Senior Secured Notes | Senior Secured Notes
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Stated interest rate					15.00%						15.00%
PJC | Master Transaction Agreement
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Common stock, par value (usd per share) | $ / shares									$ 0.01
Subsequent Event | 15.0% Senior Secured Notes | Senior Secured Notes
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Stated interest rate		15.00%
Subsequent Event | 8.5% Senior Notes Due 2021 | Senior Secured Notes
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Stated interest rate		8.50%
Senior debt to be purchased period		5 days
Subsequent Event | PJC | Master Transaction Agreement
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Percentage of senior debt to be purchased, maximum		100.00%
Number of board of directors | director		4
Subsequent Event | PJC | Master Transaction Agreement | Common Stock
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Common stock issued | $		$ 15,000,000
Subsequent Event | PJC | Participation Agreement
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Percentage of senior debt to be purchased, maximum		100.00%
Subsequent Event | PJC and Other Purchasers | Master Transaction Agreement
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Percentage of outstanding principal held	98.00%
Subsequent Event | Existing Note Holders | Master Transaction Agreement
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Number of board of directors | director		1
Subsequent Event | Consenting Note Holders | Participation Agreement
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Percentage of senior debt to be purchased, maximum		100.00%
Percentage of senior debt to be paid		5.00%
Percentage of senior debt to be sold in event of election not to launch		100.00%
Subsequent Event | Callable Warrant for Common Stock | PJC | Master Transaction Agreement
Stockholders Equity [Line Items]
Exercise price of warrants (usd per share) | $ / shares		$ 0.20
Warrants issued (in shares)		40,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of warrants | $		$ 8,000,000
[1]	Derived from audited consolidated financial statements.

Income Taxes - Narrative (Detai

Income Taxes - Narrative (Detail)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Annual effective tax rate	0.00%	0.00%

Subsequent Events (Details)

Subsequent Events (Details)	Apr. 18, 2017USD ($)shares$ / shares	Apr. 07, 2017USD ($)$ / shares	Jun. 30, 2015$ / shares	May 15, 2017USD ($)	Apr. 06, 2017$ / shares	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)$ / shares	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)$ / shares		Mar. 11, 2016	Feb. 28, 2014USD ($)$ / shares
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Shares issued, price per share (usd per share) | $ / shares			$ 5.75
Common stock, par value (usd per share) | $ / shares						$ 0.01	$ 0.01	[1]
Common Stock
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Shares issued, price per share (usd per share) | $ / shares							$ 3
Consenting Note Holders | Participation Agreement | Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Percentage of senior debt to be purchased, maximum		100.00%
Percentage of senior debt to be paid		5.00%
Percentage of senior debt to be sold in event of election not to launch		100.00%
PJC and Other Purchasers | Common Stock Purchase Agreement | Common Stock | Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Shares issued, price per share (usd per share) | $ / shares		$ 0.20			$ 0.25
Percentage increase in shares to be issued		20.00%
PJC | Participation Agreement | Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Percentage of senior debt to be purchased, maximum		100.00%
Convertible Notes
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Convertible Notes, net of discount						$ 65,002,000	$ 60,535,000	[1]
15.0% Senior Secured Notes | Senior Secured Notes
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Stated interest rate						15.00%			15.00%
Debt instrument issued						$ 30,000,000
15.0% Senior Secured Notes | Senior Secured Notes | Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Stated interest rate		15.00%
8.5% Senior Notes Due 2021 | Senior Secured Notes | Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Stated interest rate		8.50%
Senior debt to be purchased period		5 days
Debt instrument issued		$ 40,000,000
8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes | Convertible Notes
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Stated interest rate										8.50%
Convertible Notes, net of discount						$ 65,000,000
Debt instrument issued										$ 70,743,000
Debt instrument, conversion price (usd per share) | $ / shares			$ 6.59							$ 6.76
Debt instrument, convertible, conversion rate			0.1517912
8.50% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes | Convertible Notes | Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Stated interest rate	8.50%
Convertible Notes, net of discount	$ 74,200,000
5.0% Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes Due 2023 | Convertible Notes | Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Stated interest rate	5.00%
Debt instrument issued	$ 74,200,000
Number of shares per $1,000 (in shares) | shares	500
Common stock, par value (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 0.01
Debt instrument, conversion price (usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 0.20
Rights offering (in shares) | shares	40,000,000
Debt instrument, convertible, conversion rate	0.5
Bridge Note | Line of Credit | PJC Promissory Note | Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Stated interest rate				15.00%
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity				$ 1,500,000
Default interest rate				17.00%
Event of default termination fee				$ 1,500,000
[1]	Derived from audited consolidated financial statements.