Northstate - British FCA warns against online broker

10.02.2022
The alleged online broker Northstate poses as a credible platform for online trading. However, there is increasing information that unacceptable conditions prevail at NorthState. Reports from traders about NorthState are piling up, talking about telephone terror, rip-offs and investment fraud. All have lost their capital invested with NorthState. Doubt is the order of the day. Meanwhile, many NorthState traders are afraid that it is an investment scam. NorthState's website is still accessible. All NorthState investors are wondering if they have become victims of an investment scam? And what can NorthState investors do if the suspicion of investment fraud is substantiated? How can NorthState investors get their money back? Does it make sense to file a criminal complaint against NorthState with the police? What help is available for investment fraud?

NorthState: Unbelievable affirmations on northstate.io!
What do the perplexed visitors read on www.northstate.io? "Access to all markets in one place. Hundreds of financial instruments waiting for you to use: Trade the major currency pairs, soft and hard commodities. Also trade the most volatile market at the moment - Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Popular stocks offer you enormous opportunities. If you want to start off powerful or expand your trading experience with a new, shaky asset, you should choose index trading. The financial markets are accessible from your computer or smart devices through our reliable and trusted trading platforms." This is just a small passage of the suspect promises prospective investors will find on NorthState's website. None of these given promises by NorthState have been kept. Unfortunately, the suspect business practices tend to make for disappointed traders and bad experiences!

NorthState: Hide-and-seek game with domain entry!
Remarkable for the business practices of the NorthState makers is that the website does not contain any imprint with complete information on the legally responsible operators of the website. If one looks at the corresponding domain data of the website northstate.io, one finds no reference to the operators there and finds that the website was only registered on 16.06.2020 and that the real domain owners are hiding behind the Icelandic anonymisation service Withheld For Privacy Ehf. 

NorthState: Who is behind it?
Answering this question will be rather difficult for many investors, as the NorthState makers do everything they can to conceal the true circumstances. This is not unusual, however, as the perpetrators often operate several of these websites with the supposedly same business model and quickly put them online, but also shut them down again just as quickly. In many cases, the top-level domain is also frequently changed, possibly in order to deceive the financial supervisory and law enforcement authorities. And who is the operator? On the website northstate.io there is only scanty information about this. At the end of the website, for example, there is the following note in miniature: "This website owned and operated by Long Creek Partners LTD with Registration Number : 2020/IBC00036 and Address: 2nd FLR, Eversleigh House, Cnr Hanover street & Hodges , Roseau , Commonwealth of Dominica". Commonwealth of Dominica? Dominica (officially Commonwealth Dominica) is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles in the Eastern Caribbean, popular with offshore companies due to its lax legislation and often used by criminals for shell companies. A search for the company Long Creek Partners LTD in the company register of the Caribbean island of Dominica also turns up something and reveals that it was registered there on 02.07.2020.

NorthState: The customer acquisition of the investment fraudsters
The same approach can be found here again and again: In order to attract new traders, NorthState's recommendations are advertised in every conceivable media and channel. For example, advertisements are placed in the social media, such as Facebook. Time and again, the offers are false claims. To increase the deception, they upload films on YouTube in which interested traders are convinced with fictitious references. Here, supposed celebrities report on their experiences with online trading and cryptocurrencies, often with a misleading reference to the TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen". With the same intention, a mostly aggressive affiliate programme is launched to give others incentive to beat the advertising drum for NorthState.

NorthState: Criminal business practices!
As soon as the customer has registered on the trading platform, he receives calls from alleged financial brokers who like to refer to their years of experience and their satisfied customer base. In many cases, however, the makers of this business model are fraudsters, against whom the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) also warn. Investors usually start with a small amount of money. Beforehand, investors are often motivated to install remote maintenance software, such as Anydesk or Teamviewer, on their computers so that assistance can supposedly be provided with the first steps. In many cases, the computer is subsequently manipulated and unwanted transactions are carried out. In the process, the investment fraudsters often also gain access to their victims' online banking. What is particularly criminal, however, is when supposed profits are displayed on the trading platform in order to entice the customer to place further high stakes. Sometimes even small sums are paid back to lull investors into a sense of security. Who then does not want to increase the stakes further? But what happens next?

NorthState: Repayment of money is tied to conditions
However, an exit is then usually no longer possible; rather, a repayment of the money is linked to further deposits. This is where employees come in, claiming alleged tax debts and commission payments. These would first have to be settled, then the alleged profits would be paid out. For this purpose, tax and commission invoices are sent to the investors, which are often decorated with fake coats of arms and, of course, have to be paid urgently. However, it is never possible to offset them against the supposedly achieved profits. If one refuses to make these further payments, the supposed profits are often turned into losses and the customer is harmed to the maximum. However, this is usually not the end of the horror; investors are often permanently confronted with calls from other dubious providers, which indicates that the investors' contact details are further traded among the investment scammers. In the end, the "saviour" regularly comes forward, claiming to have uncovered the whole scam. He impresses with his insider knowledge. No wonder, since he is part of the fraud gang. The next rip-off! And of course the "saviour" also wants a small fee - up front!

NorthState: Scheme of investment fraud?
There is no legitimisation of the online broker NorthState. NorthState lacks the authorisation of a recognised European supervisory authority, such as the English Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec), which is often used by brokers. Likewise, there is no authorisation from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (finma) or the Financial Market Authority (FMA) of Austria, which is responsible for Switzerland. For this, there is a warning from the FCA dated 18.03.2021. It is hard to miss that NorthState is a scheme of capital investment fraud. All investors harmed by NorthState are advised to consult an investment fraud lawyer as soon as possible

NorthState: Where are the investment fraudsters actively operating?
Unfortunately, NorthState's illegal activities are not limited to the English-speaking world. Because NorthState also addresses German-speaking investors, it is only a matter of time before the defrauded investors of this speaker group also come forward. Going through the list of regulators is recommended before any financial commitment to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of investment fraud.

NorthState: Investors want their money back!
The situation is far from as hopeless as it seems. The aggrieved parties can take legal action against those involved in the investment fraud and demand the return of the money invested. At the moment it is not to be expected that the NorthState investment fraudsters will be apprehended soon, but nevertheless there is reason for hope. Especially because the transactions of the funds went through accounts provided by reputable banks. Unfortunately, they failed to check the traders' deposits, some of which were large and therefore subject to controls, and their onward transmission for legality. Negligence of this kind enabled the investment fraudsters to carry out their criminal activities in the first place.

NorthState: They want their money back! How does it work?
Equipped with this knowledge, the traders would never have got involved in an investment with NorthState. Now the only option left for the defrauded is to try to get their money back. Many investors cannot even imagine that there is any real chance of ever seeing their money again. Definitely yes! There are numerous legal bases to fall back on. The generic term is "money laundering". When investment fraudsters collect money, the offence of money laundering has been committed. Financial institutions are obliged to take action against money laundering. This is where we start with good prospects of success. First of all, relevant questions have to be clarified. Where did the money embezzled from NorthState go? Are there realistic prospects that the victims of the investment frauds will get back the money they invested with NorthState? What precautions are needed from now on? A lawyer specialising in investment fraud can provide comprehensive answers to these questions.

NorthState: Who can help?
What to do in case of investment fraud? What help with investment fraud can victims of NorthState hope for? NorthState victims will ideally find the help they need from an experienced investment fraud lawyer. He or she will be able to take care of your NorthState case both in terms of the criminal aspects of investment fraud, as well as the recovery of funds and possible claims for damages. A trading lawyer may also be considered because they are also aware of the methods used by fraudulent brokers, such as NorthState.

NorthState: Follow the money!
The internationally active investor protection law firm Resch Rechtsanwälte has been investigating such abuses on the unregulated capital market for more than 30 years. NorthState's approach is therefore nothing new. Over the decades, Resch Rechtsanwälte has developed a comprehensive set of instruments for tracking down the sums of money that have been seized and tracing the money flows. In times of the internet, it has become really difficult to make funds really disappear. The sooner investors follow the money trail, the greater the chances that they will see their invested capital again. Above all, it is important that investors who have been harmed by NorthState take action without delay.

RESCH Rechtsanwälte - Experience in investor protection since 1986
If you have been a victim of NorthState and want to know if and how you can get your money back, call +49 30 885 9770 or fill out the questionnaire. You will receive a free assessment of your case.