A former East Bay financial adviser admitted in federal court Wednesday to running a decades-long Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 93 investors out of at least $9.5 million, according to prosecutors. Edwin Emmett Lickiss Jr., 78, of Danville pleaded guilty in Oakland federal court to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering stemming from a scheme that he operated from 1998 through September 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
Federal prosecutors said Lickiss falsely told investors he would place their money into “exclusive, tax-free bonds that were safe and generated returns exceeding 20 percent,” prosecutors said. He also issued fraudulent promissory notes using the letterhead of his former company, Foundation Financial Group, to keep up the ruse, according to prosecutors.
When new money came in, Lickiss used it to pay earlier investors — a classic Ponzi scheme — and to cover his personal expenses, prosecutors said. Those expenses included cash withdrawals, home renovations, travel, vehicle payments, mortgages and personal credit cards. Lickiss remains free on bond. He is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar on Aug. 28.He could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 for the wire fraud charge, along with up to 10 years in prison and a separate $250,000 fine for the money laundering charge…