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Wilmington, DE – June 17, 2025 – U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Delaware
Robert L. Higgins, 69, the owner of First State Depository in Wilmington, Delaware, has been sentenced to 65 years in federal prison, the maximum term allowed by law, for orchestrating a decade-long fraud scheme involving the theft of at least $76 million in customer assets. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika following an eight-day jury trial in which Higgins was convicted of mail fraud, wire fraud, and income tax evasion.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Higgins used his position at First State Depository—a precious metals storage facility holding over $100 million in customer assets, primarily gold and silver bars and coins—to misappropriate funds for personal use. These included the purchase of luxury timeshares in Hawaii and international vacations, while simultaneously underreporting his income to the IRS.
Investigators found that over 1,000 customer accounts were missing precious metals, and the scale of the theft has been described by industry sources as the largest fraud ever committed by a U.S. precious metals depository.
“Higgins lied to, cheated, and stole from customers who placed their trust in him,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Dylan J. Steinberg. “He robbed hundreds of victims of their life savings and retirement funds, causing irreparable harm.”
Officials from both the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI condemned the scheme.
“This sentence reflects how egregious Higgins’ crimes truly are,” said Amanda Koldjeski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office. “We will not tolerate corruption or the exploitation of hardworking Americans.”
“Honest citizens are fed up with those who use deceit to steal and evade taxes,” added Yury Kruty, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-Criminal Investigation Philadelphia Field Office.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander P. Ibrahim, Bryan C. Williamson, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmond Falgowski.
Case details can be found on PACER under Case No. 1:22-cr-44 or on the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware website.
