West Chester Man Indicted for Fraud and Tax Evasion

WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware announced today that Robert L. Higgins, age 67, of West Chester, PA, was indicted in a Second Superseding Indictment on eight counts of fraud and five counts of tax evasion.      

The Indictment charges that Higgins owned and operated businesses in Wilmington, including First State Depository Company, Certified Assets Management, Inc., and Argent Asset Group, LLC, which were involved in the purchase, storage, and sale of precious metals.

More specifically, the Indictment charges that:

• In 2012, Higgins accepted money from an investor for the purchase of silver but had no intent to deliver on that promise and instead fraudulently used the money to operate his businesses, which were on the verge of financial collapse, and which did collapse by approximately the end of 2012;
• Higgins refused the investor’s repeated demands for the full return of his approximately $828,000 investment and;
• Higgins ultimately met with the victim investor and lied to him about the true history of his investment;
• Higgins evaded personal income taxes for the years 2015 through 2019 by diverting Argent Asset Group business funds to pay personal expenses, and by filing false returns with the IRS.   

U.S. Attorney Weiss stated, “Financial challenges do not excuse obligations to file and properly report to the IRS.  Nor can financial difficulties ever justify fraud.  Financial transactions demand accurate disclosures to investors and regulators, and no one can simply ignore the requirements of law.”

An Indictment is merely an accusation.  A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.   

The case is being investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmund Falgowski is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 22-44 MN.