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Investor Lawyers BlogSSEK Law Firm Continues to Investigate Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Losses Involving East West Bank
Several East West Bank Customers Worked With Cetera Broker Linda Fang
Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) is continuing to investigate claims of losses involving East West Bank customers who invested in Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) products.
East West Bank had signed a partnership agreement with Cetera Investment Services, LLC. The latter would offer “wealth management solutions and support” to the bank’s clients at several branches. East West Bancorp owns East West Bank. It was founded in Los Angeles in 1973 to cater to the Chinese American community in Southern California. It has branches in several U.S. states and China.
Many of the investors who lost money in Northstar (Bermuda) products are Chinese nationals who thought they were keeping their funds safe in the U.S. Instead, their broker-dealers recommended this obscure, offshore company’s products, which lacked the same protections as comparable US-based investments. Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) filed for bankruptcy in late 2020.
Cetera Investment Services One of Many Firms That Sold Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Products
Cetera Investment Services is one of the broker-dealers that unsuitably marketed and sold Northstar (Bermuda) annuities and other products to customers. These investors were primarily foreign nationals, including retirees and other retail clients, from Asia and the Americas. Many of these investors sustained significant losses.
Several investors have named Ex-Cetera broker Linda Fang as a financial advisor who recommended that they invest in these products.
Also known as Ching-Yun Linda Fang, Fang is a formerly registered broker and investment adviser who worked at 11 brokerage firms during her 20 years in the industry. She has four disclosures on BrokerCheck, all of which are pending. Most of them allege unsuitability. The most significant claim, in which the customer is seeking $2.3M, was brought against the broker in 2019.
Our Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) investment attorneys at SSEK Law Firm have filed Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claims against Cetera and, also, involving Fang. Contact us at (800) 259-9010 today.
East West Bank Continued to Market Northstar (Bermuda) Products Despite Troubling Developments
In an interview with Chinese news and information content platform Toutiao, SSEK Law Firm Senior Partner and Northstar (Bermuda) lead attorney Kirk G. Smith talked about one East West Bank customer. The 62-year-old retiree entrusted the bank and broker-dealer Cetera with the assets she needed to help take care of her sick mother. This included the majority of their family’s life savings.
Linda Fang was the Cetera financial advisor in Southern California who recommended that the claimant invest in Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) rather than keep the money in savings. This older investor contends that she trusted the bank and Fang.
In the Toutiao article, SSEK Law Firm Attorney Kirk Smith noted that this was not the only time Fang had advised elderly investors to place all of their assets in this unknown company that was never thoroughly evaluated.
Furthermore, Cetera Investment Services became aware of the bad news involving Northstar (Bermuda) but never apprised this customer of these developments. This included owner Greg Lindberg being indicted for wire fraud and bribery in 2019. He was found guilty in early 2020.
The trouble brewing at Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) did not stop East West Bank from marketing the company’s investments to customers. High commissions and other fees were likely a driving incentive behind these recommendations.
Experienced Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Law Firm
SSEK Law Firm represents dozens of investors who have suffered losses in Northstar (Bermuda) against many brokerage firms. Visit this page for a list of all of Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda)’s products.
Contact our Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) investor attorneys at (800) 259-9010 today. Or internationally via WhatsApp (text only) (713) 227- 2400.