A Northern California financial advisor faces 20 years in prison after being indicted in a fraud scheme that allegedly stole $9.5 million from dozens of investors, in a Ponzi scheme that spanned over two decades.
Edwin Emmett Lickiss Jr. faces one count of wire fraud and money laundering. He owned Foundation Financial Group, which worked with investors throughout Northern California, Idaho and the United States, according to the Justice Department indictment.
Lickiss was a registered broker until 2014, when FINRA suspended his license. According to FINRA records, Lickiss failed to disclose tax liens the Internal Revenue Service and the state of California filed against him, stating he “knowingly misrepresented” the fact to his firm. Lickiss claimed he forgot to inform FINRA of the liens, but “ultimately paid them in full,” according to comments he submitted for FINRA BrokerCheck about the regulatory action.
Regardless, Lickiss didn’t tell his clients he’d been suspended and continued working with them until September 2024, court records show.
According to the indictment, starting in 1998 and continuing for years after his FINRA suspension, Lickiss told investors he had “exclusive access to government and other bonds that paid exorbitant rates of return, including rates exceeding 20%.” He told investors the bonds were safe, tax-free and could be redeemed anytime, according to the complaint, but they were a fiction.
The DOJ claimed that Lickiss gave clients fake promissory notes, including the terms of the phony bonds, and periodically made “lulling payments,” which he told clients were accrued interest but came from funds paid by newer victims.
Lickiss would try to convince investors to “reinvest” the interest they supposedly earned on the bonds. When some investors insisted on accessing their money, he would give various excuses for why he couldn’t pay, including a family illness, banks improperly withholding the money, or that he was under audit.
In addition to occasional payments to earlier investors, Lickiss spent the money on home renovations, travel, car, mortgage and credit card payments, the DOJ stated. Lickiss fraudulently raised at least $9.5 million from at least 50 investors.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a civil enforcement action against the 77-year-old Lickiss, claiming he falsely sold millions of dollars worth of fake promissory notes claiming they’d pay interest rates between 9% and 32%. An attorney listed as Lickiss’ counsel did not return a request for comment prior to publication.
Lipkiss faces a potential maximum of 20 years in prison for wire fraud and 10 years for money laundering, as well as dual $250,000 fines for each charge, according to officials.
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