The Vesttoo Creditors Liquidating Trust issued the following press release on August 14, 2025. For more information on the complaint, click here.
The Vesttoo Creditors Liquidating Trust (the “Trust”), an independent fiduciary appointed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Court”), today filed a complaint (the “Complaint”) in the Court against Aon plc and certain affiliates (collectively, “Aon”), China Construction Bank and an affiliate (collectively, “CCB”), and certain entities and individuals for alleged fraudulent conduct and other wrongdoing that inflicted devastating losses upon the insurance industry and led to Vesttoo’s (the “Company”) bankruptcy.
“Vesttoo’s collapse was the direct result of Aon and CCB’s fraudulent conduct,” said Lawrence Hirsh, Liquidating Trustee. “Aon knew there were serious flaws in its CPI product, yet continued to falsely market it as the gold standard in intellectual property valuation. Aon also steered its riskiest transactions to Vesttoo while ignoring glaring red flags regarding Vesttoo’s collateral providers, reaping tens of millions in fees while enabling a scheme that destabilized the global insurance market. Absent Aon’s false representations about its CPI product, Aon’s failure to satisfy its due diligence obligations to Vesttoo and its counterparties, and CCB’s facilitation of billions in forged letters of credit, Vesttoo’s business would not have relied on the misvalued deals and forged collateral that led to its demise.”
“As an independent fiduciary appointed by the Court, the Trust is seeking to hold Aon, CCB, and CCB-enabled co-conspirators accountable for the manipulation of and fraud against Vesttoo,” continued Hirsh. “This litigation represents an initial step toward justice for insurers and reinsurers who were victimized by Aon’s and CCB’s actions.”
Aon Marketed a Fraudulent CPI Product
The Complaint alleges Aon knowingly sold its Collateral Protection Insurance (“CPI”) product to Vesttoo and other insurance and reinsurance companies based on blatantly false representations. Marketed as a breakthrough insurance mechanism that delivered accurate intellectual property (“IP”) valuations, in reality, Aon’s CPI product was flawed at its core and built on fraudulent representations of Aon’s capabilities and undisclosed conflicts of interest. Despite internal awareness that its CPI product was inherently risky and incapable of delivering on Aon’s promises, Aon aggressively scaled the offering, inducing Vesttoo and others into assuming billions of dollars of insurance and reinsurance risk.
Aon Ignored Red Flags Surrounding Vesttoo’s LOC Fraud to Continue to Scale its CPI Product
The Complaint further alleges that Aon disregarded glaring warning signs regarding a scheme orchestrated by a small group of co-conspirators (including Vesttoo employee Udi Ginati and CCB employee Lam Chun-Yin (“Lam”)) to produce forged letters of credit (“LOC”) and convince Vesttoo that the LOCs were real. Meanwhile, Aon continued to persuade counterparties to participate in Vesttoo-backed transactions, despite not conducting the required due diligence on Vesttoo or its LOC collateral.
The Complaint illustrates that Aon saw a golden opportunity in Vesttoo, a well-funded but inexperienced startup. Vesttoo served as Aon’s primary path to scale its highly lucrative CPI product, which involved transactions that were significantly riskier than traditional reinsurance. Though Aon knew Vesttoo lacked the track record and operational maturity required for these complex transactions – and was aware of serious red flags regarding the LOCs provided to Vesttoo – Aon actively promoted the Company to counterparties to support its CPI product expansion.
China Construction Bank Enabled the LOC Forgery Scheme
The Complaint also seeks damages from CCB and the co-conspirators in the LOC forgery scheme, including CCB employee Lam, for allegedly fabricating over $2.8 billion in letters of credit that proved to be entirely illusory. Given Lam was licensed to conduct financial transactions for CCB’s New York Branch, the perpetrators exploited his authority and used his CCB email address to send the LOCs and to convince Vesttoo and its counterparties that they were bona fide.
Although CCB was responsible for its employee’s conspiracy to produce forged LOCs under its name, it benefitted from the perceived expansion of its reinsurance LOC business. In particular, its provision of supposed LOCs backing Aon’s high-profile CPI transactions raised CCB’s profile and enhanced its reputation as a reliable player in the insurance market.
Aon’s CPI Fraud Triggered Vesttoo’s Collapse and Wreaked Havoc on the Insurance Industry
The Complaint demonstrates that Aon’s CPI transactions were the primary cause of the Company’s downfall and the industry-wide chaos that it created. Prior to its involvement with Aon’s CPI deals, Vesttoo’s insurance and reinsurance counterparties had never drawn on Vesttoo-obtained LOCs.
However, as the early-stage companies that were involved in the CPI transactions began to default en masse, it was revealed that the IP collateral for Aon’s CPI policies were given wildly overinflated valuations by Aon that proved to cover just a small fraction – if any – of the debt the IP was meant to secure. As a result, the insurers and reinsurers in the CPI transactions began drawing on the forged LOCs – expecting bank-issued collateral – only to learn that the LOCs were forged, resulting in hundreds of millions in insurance losses.
Since Vesttoo’s collapse, Aon has recognized that its CPI business was irrevocably flawed. In recent years, Aon has quietly reoriented its business away from CPI transactions.
Selendy Gay PLLC and Richards, Layton & Finger, PA are serving as litigation counsel.
About the Vesttoo Creditors Liquidating Trust
Vesttoo Creditors Liquidating Trust was established as an independent fiduciary under the oversight of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to pursue recovery claims on behalf of creditors harmed by Vesttoo’s collapse. The Trust’s mission is to maximize creditor recoveries and to hold accountable all parties responsible for the losses.
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