Baker City adviser charged in 17-year stock theft scheme, $1.6 million lost

Jeffrey Thomas Higgins, a 54-year-old Baker City investment adviser, is accused of turning client accounts into a long-running fraud that federal prosecutors say lasted from December 2007 through June 2024 and cost investors more than $1.6 million.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon says Higgins lied to clients by claiming he bought stocks at steep discounts, in some cases as much as 91% below market price, when he actually bought the shares at market value. Prosecutors say he then sold the stocks without the investors’ knowledge and moved the proceeds into his personal bank account.

To keep the scheme going, Higgins allegedly created fictitious annual statements that overstated profits and arranged for the real purchase statements to be mailed to a post office box he controlled. Federal prosecutors say the deception persisted for nearly 17 years while he worked as an investment adviser in Baker City, making the case a stark reminder of how easily long-term trust can be abused when account statements are not independently checked.

Victim investors allegedly lost more than $1.6 million. Higgins made his first appearance in federal court on April 16, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeff Armistead in Portland and was released pending further proceedings. A jury trial is scheduled for June 16, 2026, in federal court in Portland.

The FBI is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Chinwuba and Andrew T. Ho are prosecuting, and Higgins is represented by public defender Robert Hamilton.

FINRA records show Higgins had been registered in the securities industry since 1997, working for Financial West Group from 1997 to 2017 before moving to Western International Securities. FINRA says Higgins accepted a permanent bar in June 2024, which means he is permanently prohibited from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity. Western International Securities also filed a notice saying it fired him on June 27, 2024. The FINRA letter says Higgins admitted neither admitting nor denying the findings.

The case, which alleges conduct stretching from the Bush administration into 2024, underscores the damage a single adviser can do when clients rely on paper statements instead of verifying trades. Baker County residents who used Higgins or Azzurra Wealth Management should review trade confirmations, annual statements and account histories for unexplained sales, missing purchases or prices that do not match market levels, and report suspicious activity to federal investigators or FINRA.