David N. Cohen of Yonkers, New York, a stockbroker associated with Cetera Investment Services is the subject of an complaint by investors that he misappropriated client funds in excess of $5,000.
According to FINRA Public Disclosure, an investor filed a complaint in November of 2025 that alleges that Cohen misappropriated funds in connection with stock investments. The pending complaint alleges unspecified damages estimated at $5,000 or more. It also does not appear that Mr. Cohen has not been terminated by his employer, is the subject of any regulatory proceeding, or the subject of additional customer complaints.
However, a complaint alleging or accusing a stockbroker of misappropriation is a serious charge. Investors sometimes make these allegations without any basis in fact. However, investors need to be vigilant. Sometimes financial crime is simple: the Stockbroker just steals the client’s money.
Many times stockbrokers steal client funds by simply forging letters of authorization, directing that funds be transferred from the customer account to another account controlled by the broker. In other cases, brokers have established phantom accounts at other institutions where the broker is shown as a joint account holder, and which is used as a depository for funds syphoned out of the customer’s actual account, which then the broker simply steals. Sometimes to conceal these withdrawals, a broker may change the customer’s address, diverting the actual statements from ever reaching the customer, and then manufacture their own phony statements to send to the customer instead.
Others examples of stockbroker theft include the broker borrowing money from a customer, giving the customer and IOU or a promissory note that is never paid back. A stockbroker may recommend a non-existent security or non-existence investment fund, establish a bank account under the issuer’s name, manufacture false customer statements, and simply pocket the customer’s investment.
One ploy, includes a customer receiving a unsolicited withdrawal check from their brokerage account, and when the customer calls to ask about the check, the broker claims it was a mistake and asks the customer to send the check directly back to the broker, who then deposits it into another account upon receipt.
The sums can be substantial. FINRA’s disciplinary-action database revealed at least 50 disciplinary actions involving misappropriation or conversion of funds. These actions do not include or only partially include instances where a stockbroker is permanently barred by FINRA, not for stealing customer funds, but for failing to cooperate with FINRA’s investigation of the stockbroker stealing customer funds.
Such conduct is not new, and brokerage firms that discover their brokers are stealing money or obtaining unauthorized loans from customers often seek to conceal these acts from regulators and customers for fear that they may have to pay the customers back, or that they are legally responsible for the conduct of the brokers.
The Guiliano Law Group, P.C.
For more than thirty years, our practice is limited to the representation of investors. We accept representation on a contingent fee basis, meaning there is no cost to you unless we make a recovery for you. There is never any charge for a consultation or a confidential evaluation of your claim. For more information, contact us at (877) SEC-ATTY.
Nicholas J. Guiliano has an“AV” Rating,” (Highest Rating in Both Legal Ability & Ethical Standards) and Client Champion Martindale Hubbell. AVVO Rating of 10 (Superb), AVVO Five Star Rated Client’s Choice Award, and for more than a decade, Nicholas J. Guiliano has also been honored as one of America’s Most Honored Lawyers (Top 10% Nationwide).
If you believe that you have been the victim of misconduct or fraud, contact us for a free consultation. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis meaning that there is no cost or obligation, unless we are able to make a recovery for you.
