AlphaStar Insurance Group

Funds controlled by Goldman Sachs have paid $450,000 to settle litigation brought by the Bankruptcy Trustee of Bermuda domiciled ex insurance broker AlphaStar Insurance Group, formerly known as Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, which collapsed in 2003 after committing a fraud

In a recently-filed, colorfully-worded court document that often reads like it could have been written by the man himself, rather than the attorney whose name appears as the author, it is aggressively denied that Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings co-founder Nicholas Mark Cooke was involved in any financial improprieties or had any meaningful role in the group's collapse.

Goldman Sachs refused to pull the plug on one of the biggest frauds the insurance industry has ever known for fear it would de-rail the 137-year-old investment banker's own $3.66 billion IPO in May, 1999, it has been claimed.The extraordinary allegation appears in a civil complaint that was filed recently in the United States by the Bankruptcy Trustee of Bermuda-based broker AlphaStar Insurance Group Ltd., formerly known as Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings Ltd., and several of its subsidiaries and affiliates.

Despite taking Bermuda-based broker AlphaStar Insurance Group public in a $50 million IPO and being its biggest shareholder during an astonishing crime spree that caused losses estimated at more than $1 billion to the world insurance markets, Goldman Sachs is not accepting any responsibility for what happened.In fact, the actions of its two directors on AlphaStar's board, Reuben Jeffery III and Jean de Pourtales, were “a textbook illustration” of how to govern a company, according to Goldman's motion to dismiss the action on September 15, 2006.

Potential claims arising from the fraudulent activities of a Bermuda based insurance broker's British subsidiary may exceed $750 million, says the firm's U. S. Bankruptcy Trustee.It means that Stirling Cooke Brown Insurance Brokers Ltd. committed “one of the largest frauds

Five banks have been ordered to provide details of accounts maintained by the AlphaStar group of companies, formerly known as Stirling Cooke Brown, to its Bankruptcy Trustee.An order directing The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Ltd., Wachovia Bank, Bank of America, North Fork Bank and JP Morgan Chase Bank, NA to turn over the records to Trustee Richard O'Connell was issued at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on September 22, 2005.

AlphaStar Insurance Group, formerly Stirling Cooke, has reached an agreement to sell its subsidiary, Realm National Insurance Company, to an Atlanta-based company for $8 million.The proposed buyer is Flagship Holdings Inc., according to filings at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, where AlphaStar is in chapter 11 proceedings.

Three United States-based firms have asked a court to appoint an independent Bankruptcy Trustee for AlphaStar Insurance Group Ltd. to prevent further fraud. The current management of AlphaStar and 11 of its subsidiaries, which all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York on December 15, 2003, cannot be trusted, it was alleged.

Letter to the Editor of OffshoreAlert from Stephen Crane, CEO of AlphaStar Insurance Group, formerly known as Stirling Cooke.

The acrimonious, on again, off again proposed purchase of AlphaStar Insurance subsidiary Realm National Insurance Co. by Atlanta Insurance Marketing Inc, of Georgia, has become even uglier.Already subject to legal action between the intended seller and buyer, a new lawsuit

After the loss of a major lawsuit, Stirling Cooke Brown Insurance Brokers Ltd. has gone into administration in the United Kingdom.Paul Evans and Dan Schwarzmann, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, were appointed joint administrators on July 17, 2003 - nine days after a judgment in a U. K. High Court action filed by Sphere Drake Insurance.

Problem firms Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) and AlphaStar Insurance Group, formerly known as Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, face being de-listed from NYSE and Nasdaq, respectively.

Two months after talks were disclosed in InsideBermuda, AlphaStar Insurance Group Ltd. announced on March 25 that it has agreed to sell three of its subsidiaries for approximately $9 million. AlphaStar, formerly Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, has entered into a "definitive agreement" with American Insurance Managers Inc., of Atlanta, Georgia.

A U. S.-based insurance manager has been accused of trying to "steal" an underwriting subsidiary of AlphaStar Insurance Group Ltd., previously known as Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings. American Insurance Managers Inc. entered into a "non-binding" agreement on October 2, 2002 to buy AlphaStar's New York-based underwriter Realm National Insurance, for $12 million.

Stirling Cooke North American Holdings Inc., AlphaStar Insurance Group Ltd. and Realm National Insurance Company filed a civil lawsuit at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on December 27, 2002 alleging breach of contract against American Insurance Managers Inc., American Insurance Management Group Inc. and Atlanta Insurance Marketing Inc.

Lloyd's of London has banned Stirling Cooke Brown Insurance Brokers Ltd. from transacting any new business in the market, effective December 4, 2002.

Crisis firm Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings has changed its name to AlphaStar Insurance Group Ltd., effective September 30, in its latest attempt to shed itself of its poor image.The firm stated that its "Board of Directors had decided that a