A former financial advisor has been sentenced to prison for operating a long-running Ponzi scheme, according to a report by InvestmentNews.
78-year-old Edwin Emmett Lickiss Jr. of Danville, California was sentenced to nine years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar.
Lickiss Jr. pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the fraud that was carried out from 1998 to 2024. He admitted that during that time, he defrauded at least 93 victims of over $9.5 million
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, Lickiss said that he would invest victims’ money in exclusive, tax-free bonds that offered rates of return up to 30%. Lickiss also claimed that members of his own family had invested in the bonds, that he charged no investment fees because he had already profited so substantially, and that investors could redeem their money at any time.
In fact, prosecutors said, the bonds did not exist. The investigation determined that Lickiss funneled money from later victims to pay earlier investors, consistent with a Ponzi scheme. He also siphoned victim funds to pay personal expenses, including cash withdrawals, home renovations, travel, and payments on vehicles, mortgages, and personal credit cards.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) had issued an order barring Lickiss from engaging in any broker-related business from August 18, 2014, through December 17, 2014. Despite the order, Lickiss continued to fraudulently solicit and obtain investments from victims during that period.
Scott Silver, a plaintiff’s attorney representing investors who gave money to Lickiss, told InvestmentNews that the sentence given was not enough given the extent of the scheme.
“Nine years,” said Silver. “This guy ripped off people for more than 20 years. We estimated he stole in the neighborhood of $20 million to $30 million.”
“From my clients’ point of view, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime,” Silver said. “Keep in mind that was a disciplined fraud for over 25 years. There is no punishment he doesn’t deserve.”
“It’s an ounce of justice, although he is an old man himself now,” Silver added.
As part of a separate lawsuit, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Lickiss also used money from the fraud scheme for Disney Vacation Club dues, utilities and maintenance on his personal home and financial assistance to his adult daughter.
According to a federal indictment, Lickiss claimed that his false promissory notes would pay interest of 9% and 32% per year, telling clients that the proceeds of their deposits would go toward high-yield government bonds issued in the 1960s and 1970s and that these were available only to select brokers.
He also said there was a special arrangement with the IRS that allowed these bonds to be invested tax-free. Lickiss allegedly told investors their investments could be redeemed at any time—and that he said he wasn’t charging clients a fee since he was also supposedly invested in the bonds.
Lickiss “provided victim investors fraudulent promissory notes on his firm’s letterhead,” the indictment said. “The fraudulent notes included the purported terms of the fake bond investments—including the supposed and exorbitant rates of return—and purported to track the victim investors’ total investment in the fake bonds.”
The attorneys at Hyman Cotter have decades of experience dealing with securities fraud cases and have a deep understanding of how capital markets and financial service firms are intended to work to protect investors. If you think your financial professional or firm engaged in misconduct that caused you investment losses, contact Hyman Cotter at (833) 665-0784 or through our online contact form for a no-cost evaluation of your matter.
