West Chester Man Indicted For Tax Evasion & Fraud

WILMINGTON, DEL —A 67-year-old West Chester man was indicted in federal court here on charges of tax evasion and fraudulent representation to a client that he was investing $828,000 in silver.

Robert L. Higgins was indicted by U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss of Delaware on eight counts of fraud and five counts of tax evasion following a grand jury investigation.

“Financial challenges do not excuse obligations to file and properly report to the IRS, nor can financial difficulties ever justify fraud," Weiss said in a prepared statement.

Weiss said financial transactions demand accurate disclosures to investors and regulators, and no one can ignore the requirements of law.

According to the indictment:

Higgins owned and operated 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.

In 2012, Higgins accepted money from an investor for the purchase of silver, but did not purchase silver.

Instead, Higgins 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.

He is also accused of evading personal income taxes for the years 2015 through 2019 by diverting Argent Asset Group business funds to pay personal expenses, and filing false returns with the IRS.

Authorities did not disclose the amount evaded in taxes.