Michael Zidell, who earlier sued Citibank over a crypto romance scam, has now filed lawsuits against East West Bank and Cathay Bank, accusing them of aiding fraudsters who allegedly stole over $20 million from him through a fake NFT investment scheme.
Zidell filed the new suits in a California federal court on Tuesday, claiming that both banks “turned a blind eye to their statutory duties and obligations” while processing his transfers to scammers’ accounts.
What happened?
According to the lawsuit, Zidell was contacted on Facebook in early 2023 by someone named “Carolyn Parker”, who claimed to be a successful business owner. They developed an online romantic relationship, and within a month she allegedly persuaded him to invest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through a trading platform she recommended.
Over several months, Zidell transferred 43 payments totaling over $20 million to various accounts supposedly tied to the platform.
- Of this, 18 transfers worth nearly $7 million went to an account at East West Bank.
- Another 13 transfers worth over $9.7 million went to an account at Cathay Bank.
- He had previously sued Citibank over 12 transfers worth about $4 million sent to accounts there.
By April 2023, the platform’s website disappeared — and so did his money.
Why he’s suing the banks
Zidell claims the banks facilitated fraud by allowing scammers to open accounts and process large, suspicious wire transfers without proper scrutiny. The lawsuit accuses East West and Cathay of negligence, aiding and abetting securities fraud, and — in a charge not made against Citibank — aiding and abetting elder abuse.
His complaint argues that the banks should have investigated the “large, round number” transfers and flagged them as suspicious.
“Defendants, through their recklessness, materially aided Parker and her co-conspirators by opening bank accounts, providing services including wire transfers and allowing them to be used to perpetrate the NFT Enterprise scam,” the lawsuit states.
California law defines an elder as someone 65 or older, but Zidell’s age isn’t disclosed in the complaint.
What he seeks
Zidell is asking the court for compensatory damages, legal costs, and interest, and he has requested a jury trial.
East West Bank, Cathay General Bancorp (parent of Cathay Bank), and Citibank have not publicly commented on the lawsuits yet.
The case highlights growing concerns about how financial institutions handle potential red flags amid rising cases of pig butchering, romance scams, and crypto frauds, which the FBI and other agencies have warned are on the rise globally.