Following an eight-day jury trial, Robert L. Higgins was sentenced to 65 years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika on June 17, 2025. Higgins faced charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and income tax evasion, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Dylan J. Steinberg for the District of Delaware.
Higgins, aged 69, owned First State Depository in Wilmington, Delaware—a facility that held over $100 million in customer assets mainly consisting of gold and silver bars and coins. Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Higgins misappropriated $76 million from his customers over a decade to settle personal debts and fund his lifestyle while underreporting his income on federal tax returns.
The fraudulent activities resulted in over 1,000 customer accounts missing precious metals. Industry sources described it as the largest theft from a precious metals depository in U.S. history.
Acting U.S. Attorney Steinberg commented: “Higgins lied to, cheated, and stole from customers who placed their trust in him and his businesses during a 10-year fraud scheme… By robbing his many victims of their hard-earned life savings and retirement funds, Higgins irreparably hurt hundreds of people and their families.”
Yury Kruty, Special Agent in Charge at IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Philadelphia Field Office stated: “Honest and law-abiding citizens are fed up with the likes of those who use deceit and fraud to line their pockets with other people’s money as well as skirt their tax obligations.”
FBI Baltimore Acting Special Agent in Charge Amanda Koldjeski remarked: “The more his greed grew, so did his shameful and selfish scheme… Let this be a lesson to other criminals that the FBI and our partners will not tolerate corruption or those seeking to take advantage of hardworking Americans.”
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander P. Ibrahim and Bryan C. Williamson leading prosecution efforts alongside former Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmond Falgowski.
Further details about this case can be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware or through PACER by searching Case No. 1:22-cr-44.
