CHARLESTON – A Cabell County woman says the owner of three financial companies filed a fraudulent federal form alleging she had been fired that has caused her undue stress.
Jonda Lowe filed her complaint September 29 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Freedom Financial Insurance Group, Freedom Financial Advisors, Freedom Financial Educators and Melissa Grass, who is founder and CEO of the corporate entities.
Lowe says she wants to recoup funds from Grass and the defendant companies they obtained fraudulently in providing retirement planning services to federal employees.
Griffith
| Courtesy photo
“This is a simple case of a business owner attempting to limit competition by defaming a former contractor who caught her in deceptive practices,” attorney Travis Griffith told The West Virginia Record.
According to the complaint, Lowe was recruited by Grass in May 2022 as an independent agent to engage in a federal lead program for the purpose of insurance sales to federal employees. Lowe would earn 4.5 percent commission on her business with the defendants, and she says Grass assured her and others the commission was actually 6 percent in total. But, Lowe says the commissions being paid actually were 8.5 percent to Grass and her companies.
Lowe also claims Grass wasn’t licensed to perform investment advice on securities until after being given special authority to do so by the state auditor by waiver of an exam.
Lowe also says Grass fraudulently induced her to enter into the contractual relationship by claiming the lead business was developed by Grass and her companies and provided leads to another company called Megastar (a national insurance marketing organization) in exchange for Lowe fulfilling her duties and obligations based on the contractual agreement. In reality, Lowe says, Megastar developed the federal contract and provided leads to Grass and her companies.
On January 31, Lowe says she told Megastar of the “ruse” Grass used to gain more funds that she had disclosed. The next day, she resigned from her position.
On March 4, Grass provided a Form U-5 for Lowe that fraudulently said Lowe had been terminated on February 2 for failure to communicate with the Compliance Officer and CEO of Freedom Financial Advisors about alleged actions of insubordination, breach of contract and trying to cause financial harm to Grass’s companies.
“In fact, Lowe was never engaged in any such activity while working as an independent investment advisor with the defendants,” the complaint states. “Lowe was not even assigned a log-in to the FFA platform.”
The complaint says the Form U-5 is harmful to Lowe because it caused her termination from any business with Fidelity and Guaranty Life Insurance Company. It also shows up on Lowe’s IAPD report forever despite her never selling, offering, soliciting or engaging in a single security for or with the defendants.
Lowe accuses the defendants of fraud, unjust enrichment, conversion, intentional infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence and defamation.
“We are requesting the court make a declaratory judgment regarding the fraudulent Form U-5 so that we can have the fraudulent claims removed from Ms. Lowe’s report,” Griffith told The Record.
In addition to seeking the expungement of the Form U-5, Lowe seeks joint and several compensatory, punitive and general damages as well as pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-876
