Past actions seem to be catching up fast with Durham, NC resident Greg Lindberg, already in prison for bribery, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. The owner of bankrupt Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) has been slapped with a lawsuit for payment of $524 million to honor an agreement between PB Life and Annuity Company, and Universal Life Insurance Company (ULICO), which is a Puerto Rico entity.
The Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Lawsuit Case
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ULICO and PB Life entered into a reinsurance agreement which was secured by a personal guarantee from Lindberg, agreeing to be held accountable in the event PB Life was unable to meet its obligations.
PB Life was already being accused of non-compliance by ULICO in early 2020, triggering, as contended by ULICO, the need for PB Life to deposit $524 million into a specified account. PB Life’s refusal to pay, despite an order to this effect by an arbitration panel, has brought the liability on to Lindberg personally, as per the terms of the agreement.
Lindberg’s interest in the deal
Lindberg’s interest in PB Life stems from the acquisition of PB Investment Holdings by Global Bankers Insurance Group, which was founded by him. PB is an offshore entity. Global Bankers also acquired two other offshore entities, Old Mutual (Bermuda) and Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda).
Lindberg is also the founder of Eli Global.
All the three acquired companies have faced investor claims for recovery, in the face of mounting losses.
Lindberg’s stand
Lindberg is connecting this case with his ongoing dispute with Mike Causey, the North Carolina insurance commissioner, and blaming the state’s regulatory actions for the woes of PB Life caused by their downstream impact.
It might be recollected that the department had accused him of lending over $2 billion to other businesses out of the coffers of the insurers under Lindberg’s Global Bankers Insurance Group. After his indictment in 2019, they had seized control of these companies.
The Northstar connection
Ever since the investigation of Lindberg’s business activities started, he has been known to have followed the process of transferring money from the annuity and insurance companies under his control, to other companies and special purpose vehicles operated by him.
The troubles of Northstar Financial Services are likely the result of the same practice, leaving only $8 million in assets by September 2020 and a gaping deficit of $260 million.
Major broker-dealers, driven by the lure of attractive commissions, are believed to be complicit and sold the investments products of Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda), such as Global Advantage Series, Global VIP Elite, and Global Index Product among others, any which way.
Some of the broker-dealers facing investment claims are:
- SunTrust Investment Services
- Truist Investment Services
- Bankoh Investment Services
- Ocean Financial Services
- Bancwest Investment Services
What should impacted investors do?
With Northstar now virtually resource-less, investors seeking recovery should consider pursuing the broker-dealers that sold these investments to them. Broker-dealers selling the investment have a responsibility to ensure that investments sold by them are suitable for the investor and that they have adequate supervision over the advisor doing the transaction.
Haselkorn & Thibaut is representing many of these investors in their FINRA arbitration cases against the broker-dealers that sold them these investments.
If you are an impacted investor and would like to explore your legal options related to losses involving Old Mutual (Bermuda), PB Investment Holdings, or Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda), call at 1-800-856-3352 today.
