The number of customers of East West Bank who are claiming losses in the products of Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) is rapidly rising. Many of these are Chinese nationals who seem to have invested in Northstar on the recommendation of their financial advisor, believing it to be a well-regulated US security. They ended up owning an investment in an obscure offshore company, lacking the protection of a comparable US-regulated investment.
Many of the investors who incurred substantial losses are retail clients, including retirees. It is believed that the high commissions and fees offered for selling these investments were the motivator for firms and brokers to disregard safeguards and push these products aggressively. They made money while their customers lost. In late 2020, Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) filed for bankruptcy protection.
If you are impacted by the unraveling of Northstar, you are invited to contact one of our investor attorneys at 1-800-856-3352 for a free consultation on recovering your losses.
East West Bank
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East West Bank is owned by East West Bancorp and was founded in 1973 primarily to cater to the Sothern California population of Chinese Americans. It subsequently grew to open branches not only in other states but also in China.
Awareness of the brewing trouble at Northstar did not deter them from continuing to market these investments to customers.
Cetera Investment Services LLC
One of the many broker-dealers that marketed and unsuitably sold Northstar (Bermuda) products and annuities to unsuspecting customers is Cetera Investment Services.
A partnership agreement had been signed by them with East West Bank under which Cetera would offer ‘wealth management solutions and support to clients of the bank.
Even after they became aware of the negative developments around Northstar, such as the indictment for bribery and wire fraud in 2019 of Greg Lindberg, the owner, eventually being pronounced guilty in early 2020, they chose to not share the same with their customers.
Broker Linda Fang
Within Cetera, the name of this broker, now ex-Cetera, appears as a common thread in terms of being the one to have made the recommendation to several investors.
Answering to the full name of Ching-Yun Linda Fang, Fang was associated with the industry for 20 years during which time she represented 11 different brokerages.
There are four disclosures on her account. All of them pertain to unsuitability and are still open. The largest claim of $2.3 million was registered against her in 2019.
Experienced Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Law Firm
Haselkorn & Thibaut, P.A. (InvestmentFraudLawyers.com) is investigating claims of losses made by customers and have filed multiple FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) claims against Cetera, some of them also naming Fang.
Investors who are victims of investment fraud have little time to lose. It is crucial that you take action quickly. Our investment-fraud lawyers have the knowledge and experience to help you recover your investment.
They are former licensed brokers and defense attorneys and have an insider’s perspective on these legal and regulatory issues and the way financial service firms and their lawyers treat and evaluate them. Their knowledge and experience should be your ally. They will fight for you and help you to recover your investment.
Our investment fraud lawyers have over 45 years of experience and millions of dollars recovered. They are determined to help investors recover their losses. It is worse than losing your investment money and not being able to recover it. A good investment fraud lawyer can quickly take legal action, including FINRA arbitration or filing complaints to FINRA. We make the process simple and straightforward for investors, even though it may seem daunting or complicated.
If you are impacted by the unraveling of Northstar, you are invited to contact one of our investor attorneys at 1-800-856-3352 for a free consultation on recovering your losses.
