Barred Oregon Financial Advisor Pleads Guilty to $1.6 Million Investment Fraud
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
A former Oregon financial advisor has pleaded guilty to fraud after admitting to a long-running scheme that caused investors to lose more than $1.6 million.
Jeffrey Thomas Higgins entered his guilty plea and now faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. As reported by ThinkAdvisor, Higgins also agreed to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution and a $10,000 fine. A federal judge has scheduled his sentencing for December 7, 2026.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon, Higgins carried out the fraud over nearly 17 years, from December 2007 through June 2024. Prosecutors allege that Higgins told clients he would purchase stock shares at substantial discounts on their behalf. Instead, he bought the securities at market prices, sold the shares without the investors' knowledge, and transferred the sale proceeds into his personal bank account.
According to ThinkAdvisor, prosecutors allege that Higgins concealed the scheme by preparing two different sets of annual account statements. He allegedly provided investors with statements that overstated investment performance while sending accurate records reflecting the actual stock purchases to a post office box under his control.
The criminal case follows a parallel civil enforcement action filed earlier this year by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
BrokerCheck records cited by ThinkAdvisor show that Higgins worked for Western International Securities from August 2017 through June 2024. He previously worked at Financial West Group, where he began his securities industry career in 1997. FINRA expelled Financial West Group in 2020.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, investment fraud, securities fraud, financial advisor fraud, white collar crime
