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Our Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) FINRA Arbitration Attorneys Are Representing This Chinese Retiree in Her Six-Figure Lawsuit
Once again, Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas FINRA Arbitration Attorneys (investorlawyers.com) are suing Cetera Investment Services on behalf of a Chinese investor who suffered losses in the offshore entity Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda). This claimant, an octogenarian, is pursuing up to $500K in damages for her losses.
She met her then-Cetera broker John Yin (also known as Hai Guang Yin, Haiguan Hai Yin) through East West Bank, where she and her family had accounts. This retiree thought placing the family’s assets in the US for safekeeping would be a wise decision, considering the fluctuations and risks common in her homeland.
Instead, Cetera appears to have abused her trust by overconcentrating her portfolio with Northstar (Bermuda) annuities. Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) is an offshore investment that is now essentially defunct. This was a risky, unprotected, and unsuitable recommendation for someone wanting stability for her assets.
Moreover, better-regulated, comparable products would have been more appropriate for and available to this investor. This retiree made it clear from the start that she wasn’t looking to expose her savings to anything that could lead to serious losses.
As a matter of fact, she was promised safe returns and principal protection. At no point did her Cetera broker apprise her of the risks, including when Northstar (Bermuda) started showing signs of trouble.
Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020. Owner Greg Lindberg is now convicted of defrauding annuity investors of $2B. One can only presume that the high commissions and fees that brokerage firms and their financial advisors earned from selling Northstar (Bermuda) annuities are what caused them to make unsuitable investment recommendations, misrepresentations, and omissions about what was going on, overconcentrate customers’ accounts, and commit breaches of fiduciary duty.
John Yin, who is no longer a registered representative, was most recently a Packerland Brokerage Services financial advisor. He was a Cetera broker from 2013 to 2023. According to Yin’s CRD, there are at least two pending customer disputes involving his former clients, including one pursuing $500K in damages. Both cases are unsuitability lawsuits.
How Our Northstar (Bermuda) Investment FINRA Arbitration Attorneys Can Help
Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas FINRA Arbitration Attorneys have fast become one of the leading securities firms for foreign nationals who have suffered losses while working with a US broker. To date, we have filed dozens of Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) lawsuits in FINRA arbitration against broker-dealers. Cetera is the respondent in a number of these cases. Our clients include investors from China, Japan, all over Latin America, and Europe.
We are very familiar with how broker negligence and misconduct unnecessarily exposed investors to this unrated investment when there were better choices that were more in line with their financial goals and savings needs. If you contact us today, we can help you determine whether you have grounds for filing an investor claim in FINRA arbitration against your US-based broker-dealer.
Even if you are someone who is waiting to avail of Northstar Bermuda’s liquidation proceedings, know that your chances of recouping much, if anything at all, from that are slim. However, you may be able to sue your financial advisor for damages.
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Call our FINRA Arbitration Attorneys at (800) 259-9010.
International, Via What’s App (text only): (713) 227-2400.