A Baker City, Oregon, man pleaded guilty on June 2 to investment advisor fraud after stealing his clients’ shares of stocks, selling them, and transferring the proceeds into his personal bank account for nearly 17 years, according to U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Jeffrey Thomas Higgins, 54, admitted in court that from December 2007 through June 2024 he worked as an investment adviser in Baker City and enticed investors by falsely claiming he purchased stocks on their behalf at deep discounts when he actually bought them at market value. Higgins then sold the stocks without investors’ knowledge and kept the proceeds for himself.
To conceal the scheme, Higgins created fictitious annual statements that exaggerated profits while statements showing true costs were mailed directly to a post office box under his control. Prosecutors said at least fourteen investors lost a total of at least $1.6 million due to Higgins’ misappropriation of shares.
Higgins faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for December 7 before a U.S. district court judge. As part of his plea agreement, Higgins has agreed to pay over $1.6 million in restitution.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case while Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Chinwuba and Andrew T. Ho are prosecuting it.
The Justice Department serves as the principal federal agency for law enforcement with more than 115,000 employees operating across the United States and internationally; it focuses on upholding the rule of law and safeguarding civil rights under Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s leadership since March 11, 2021. It maintains operations throughout over 50 countries worldwide and has overseen major prosecutions including those related to domestic terrorism cases such as Oklahoma City bombing cases, according to its official website.