CALIFORNIA—
An alleged victim of a crypto romance scam sued California-based East West Bank and Cathay Bank, July 1, claiming they failed to flag suspicious activity after he transferred a total of $16 million to scam accounts.
Plaintiff Michael Zidell previously sued Citibank on June 24, alleging it also missed red flags in 12 transfers totaling $4 million to scam-linked accounts.
Zidell accused the banks of turning “a blind eye to their statutory duties and obligations.”
“Carolyn Parker” contacted Zidell on Facebook, sparking a relationship
In early 2023, Zidell said a woman named “Carolyn Parker” messaged him on Facebook, and they began a romantic relationship.
About a month in, Parker allegedly claimed she made millions from NFTs. She urged Zidell to invest through a trading platform – OpenrarityPro.com.
Starting in January 2023, Zidell decided to invest as Parker suggested. He began to wire funds to different bank accounts that were provided to him through the website.
“When Plaintiff Zidell asked a representative of OpenrarityPro.com why he was sending funds to different bank accounts, he was told that due to a large number of customer deposits, multiple banks were needed to process all the customer investments,” according to the court filing.
At the time, Zidell felt this was a reasonable explanation.
Suit claims banks failed to investigate obvious red flags
Zidell’s lawsuit claims East West Bank and Cathay Bank were negligent and helped facilitate securities fraud.
The suit claims the banks had a duty to monitor suspicious activity but failed to investigate obvious red flags, like large, round-number transfers.
The complaint also accuses East West and Cathay Bank of aiding elder abuse, unlike Citibank. Zidell is seeking damages, legal fees, and interest at trial.
