Experienced investment fraud lawyers in California, have been called upon to investigate claims of investor fraud of former customers of Cynthia Cowden, or Cynthia Diane Cowden, who used to be a stockbroker at NPB Financial Group. In addition, Cowden, based out of Lake Isabella, California, was also a registered investment advisor, operating under the business name of Cynthia Cowden Investments.
Cynthia Cowden Barred by FINRA
The self-regulating Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) barred Cowden in October on account of speculative, high-risk investment recommendations made to three senior investors, unsuitably, disregarding their investment profile and investment goals. Two of the three, incidentally, are a senior couple. Cowden has accepted the FINRA ruling, without either admitting to or denying her guilt.
According to FINRA, the elderly couple was advised to invest $231K in an illiquid non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT). This was an unsuitable recommendation for the couple, as reasonably well understood on the ‘street,’ who were looking for stability and liquidity in their investments, and depended on their portfolio for supplemental income.
The third senior customer was recommended an investment of $250K in a closed-ended mutual fund that, being risky and illiquid, was entirely unsuitable not just for the investment goal of achieving slow growth at a reasonable rate, but also for this claimant’s circumstances, as it ended up concentrating 50% of his net worth in this single asset.
In addition, Cowden also testified falsely about the income and assets of all three customers, claims FINRA.
Prior History
A perusal of her BrokerCheck record reveals four prior customer disputes, of which one is pending while three have been settled. Coincidentally, three of these involve senior investors:
November 2020
$400K sought damages for violations of elder financial abuse, supervisory failures, unauthorized trades, financial duty breach, and contract breach.
January 2020
Brought on for negligence, unsuitability, financial abuse, fraud, supervisory failures, elder financial abuse, breach of fiduciary duty, omissions and misrepresentations, concentration, and several other reasons, this case was eventually settled for $57K.
September 2016
Yet another claim of elder financial abuse, this case was settled for $80K.
May 2012
The claimant received $163,500 as a settlement for a claim that alleged breach of contract, misrepresentations, and unsuitable investment recommendations.
The record also reveals Cowden’s association of over 30 years with the industry, before being barred by FINRA, having worked at Tricor Financial, Next Financial Group, Advantage Capital Corp., Protective Equity Securities, and NY Life Securities before becoming a broker with NPB Financial in 2013.
Investment Fraud Attorneys
At Haselkorn & Thibaut, P.A., we have over 45 years of experience and focus solely on fighting against fraudulent actions of brokers that have caused investors unreasonable, unfair, and often devastating losses. Know that a registered representatives’ carelessness or misconduct is the responsibility of the broker-dealer too and that they can be held liable for their failure to adequately supervise.
Call us today at 1 888-628-5590 in San Diego to speak to our specialist elder fraud lawyers. Our services are available nationally.
