May 26, 2026 – OAKLAND, CA – Edwin Emmett Lickiss, Jr., pleaded guilty in federal court on
Wednesday, May 20 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with a decades-long Ponzi scheme.
Image by Ray Shrewsberry • Ray_Shrewsberry from Pixabay
Lickiss, 78, of Danville, Calif., admitted that from 1998 through September 2024, he defrauded more than 93 investors of at least $9.5 million. To induce investments, Lickiss falsely claimed that he would place victim funds into exclusive, safe, tax-free bonds, with some generating returns in excess of 20 percent. Lickiss also issued fraudulent promissory notes on the letterhead of his former firm, Foundation Financial Group…