A barred financial advisor from Baker City, Oregon, pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraud after stealing his clients' stocks, selling them and transferring the proceeds into his personal bank account over nearly 17 years, Scott E. Bradford, U.S. attorney for Oregon, announced.
Jeffrey Thomas Higgins, 54, pleaded guilty to investment advisor fraud, according to a statement, which said at least 14 investors lost over $1.6 million through his misappropriation.
His most recent firm, Western International Securities, was acquired in 2020 by Atria Wealth Solutions, which became part of LPL Financial about four years later.
From December 2007 through June 2024, while working as an investment advisor, Higgins enticed investors by lying, falsely claiming he purchased stocks on their behalf at deep discounts when he actually purchased them at market value, prosecutors said, citing court documents.
The broker, whom the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority barred from the industry in 2024, sold the stocks without his investors' knowledge and took the proceeds from the sales, prosecutors alleged. To support the scheme, Higgins created fictitious annual statements that exaggerated profits, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Higgins, who faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine and three years of supervised release, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 7. As part of his plea agreement, Higgins agreed to pay over $1.6 million in restitution.
Higgins worked as an advisor with Financial West Group before ending his employment with the broker-dealer in August 2017, according to the criminal information filed against him in April. He then held the same role with Western International Securities until being fired on June 27, 2024, for misappropriation of client investments and funds, it said.
While working for Western, Higgins misappropriated shares destined for 12 accounts and 14 victim clients, according to prosecutors.
Atria Wealth Solutions acquired Western International in 2020. Western ceased operations following LPL Financial's 2024 Atria acquisition, which closed a few months after Higgins' dismissal. LPL or firms it acquired have settled several customer complaints involving Higgins, his FINRA BrokerCheck page indicates.
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