A Texas man has pleaded guilty to misleading six Mainers into giving him $323,000 in a multi-year fraudulent health care investment scheme.
Nelson P. Cowand, 54, entered his plea Friday at the Cumberland County Superior Court for securities fraud and theft charges stemming from his scheme that began in 2013, according to the Maine attorney general’s office.
Under the plea agreement, Cowand will serve an 8 month jail sentence and be required to pay $253,000 in restitution.
Cowand used his personal ties to the southern Maine community to attract and take advantage of investors for a “purported drug-testing business” by diverting money to pay for his unauthorized wages and personal expenses, including tickets for the Dallas Cowboys, the attorney general’s office said Friday.
He will have 36 months from his sentence date to pay back more than $195,000 in restitution to his victims. If he does so, he can withdraw his guilty plea to securities fraud but will still be convicted of theft. Cowand will pay the remaining restitution balance of $57,400, according to the attorney general’s office.
Failure to meet the deadline for paying back the $195,000 will result in both convictions of securities fraud and theft remaining on Cowand’s record.
