Donnell Bowen: Washington, DC Financial Advisor Barred

A disciplinary action taken by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority against former Washington, DC broker Donnell Bowen (CRD# 5641822) barred him after finding he refused to provide information during its investigation into possible forgeries of customer signatures. A former representative of Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, Bowen was barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm.

According to a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (No. 2017052930501) dated June 2018, Donnell Brown was registered with Northwestern Mutual Investment Services from March 2009 until January 2017, when he resigned while “under investigation for allegations of forgery of client signatures on non-variable insurance documents.” FINRA sent him a request on January 24, 2018 for documents and information concerning these allegations, with a deadline of February 7, 2018. When Bowen failed to produce the requested materials by that date, FINRA sent another request with a deadline of February 14, 2018—a deadline he also did not meet, according to FINRA. The regulator also sent a request on February 2, 2018 to appear and provide on-the-record testimony to FINRA on March 19, 2018; when he did not appear on that date, FINRA sent a second request on March 20, 2018, for testimony on March 30, 2018, a date upon which he also did not appear. FINRA concluded that these failures to cooperate with FINRA’s requests constituted violations of FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010. As a result of the alleged foregoing conduct, he was barred from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity.

Donnell Brown’s disclosure records also list 13 settled customer complaints against him.

A complaint filed in 2018, for instance, “expressed concerns regarding suitability and loss of potential gains” resulting from an “incorrect asset allocation mix” in the account, as well as concerns that a signature on a document was not the customer’s; the complaint reached a settlement of $33,383.27.

A 2017 complaint alleged that Donnell Brown forged the customer’s signature and made unauthorized changes to insurance policies; it reached a settlement of $290,635.40.

A 2017 complaint alleged that as a representative of Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, Brown signed the customer’s name on forms that effected unauthorized transactions; the complaint reached a settlement of $123,313.46.

A 2017 complaint alleged that as a representative of Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, Brown purchased an insurance product that was not the one she agreed to; the complaint reached a settlement of $127,994.57.

Another 2017 complaint alleged he committed forgery on a variable annuity distribution form and life insurance documents, effecting unauthorized transactions; the complaint reached a settlement of $470,679.93

Donnell Brown is currently not registered as a broker or investment advisor. His employment history includes Northwestern Mutual Investment Services in Washington, DC. He currently holds zero state licenses and has passed three securities industry qualification examinations.