{"id":51240,"date":"2026-09-17T04:23:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T04:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240"},"modified":"2026-09-17T04:23:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T04:23:12","slug":"california-man-sentenced-to-nine-years-for-ponzi-scheme-defrauding-93-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240","title":{"rendered":"California Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors have secured a nine-year prison sentence against a California man who ran a Ponzi scheme for more than 25 years.<\/p>\n

Edwin Emmett Lickiss Jr., 78, of Danville pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering after taking more than $9.5 million from at least 93 victims from 1998 through September of 2024,\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Northern District of California.<\/p>\n

Lickiss owned Foundation Financial Group, an investment firm that served clients in California, Idaho and other states.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors say he told investors he would put their money into exclusive tax-free bonds with returns as high as 30 percent.<\/p>\n

He also said family members had bought the same bonds, that he charged no fees because he had already made enough and that people could pull their money out at any time.<\/p>\n

The bonds did not exist.<\/p>\n

He used new investor money to pay earlier victims and spent other funds on home renovations, travel, cars, mortgages and credit cards.<\/p>\n

FINRA barred him from broker work from August 18th through December 17th of 2014. He kept taking investments during that window.<\/p>\n

The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation handled the case.<\/p>\n

Follow us on X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and Telegram<\/a><\/span><\/em>
\n
\nDon’t Miss a Beat \u2013 Subscribe<\/a> to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox <\/span><\/em>
\n<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

&nbsp<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any assets including cryptocurrencies, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n

Generated Image: Midjourney<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The post California Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims<\/a> appeared first on The Daily Hodl<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federal prosecutors have secured a nine-year prison sentence against a California man who ran a Ponzi scheme for more than 25 years. Edwin Emmett Lickiss Jr., 78, of Danville pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering after taking more than $9.5 million from at least 93 victims from 1998 through September of 2024,\u00a0says\u00a0the U.S. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims - Cryptomag<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims - Cryptomag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Federal prosecutors have secured a nine-year prison sentence against a California man who ran a Ponzi scheme for more than 25 years. Edwin Emmett Lickiss Jr., 78, of Danville pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering after taking more than $9.5 million from at least 93 victims from 1998 through September of 2024,\u00a0says\u00a0the U.S. […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cryptomag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-17T04:23:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/us-responds-brics.jpg?resize=1024,600\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Crypto Magazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cryptomagz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cryptomagz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Crypto Magazine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Crypto Magazine\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040\"},\"headline\":\"California Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-17T04:23:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240\"},\"wordCount\":326,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/us-responds-brics-4150a9.webp\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240\",\"name\":\"California Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims - Cryptomag\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/us-responds-brics-4150a9.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-17T04:23:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/us-responds-brics-4150a9.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/us-responds-brics-4150a9.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=51240#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"California Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cryptomag\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040\",\"name\":\"Crypto Magazine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Crypto Magazine\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/cryptomagz\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"California Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims - Cryptomag","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"California Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims - Cryptomag","og_description":"Federal prosecutors have secured a nine-year prison sentence against a California man who ran a Ponzi scheme for more than 25 years. Edwin Emmett Lickiss Jr., 78, of Danville pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering after taking more than $9.5 million from at least 93 victims from 1998 through September of 2024,\u00a0says\u00a0the U.S. […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240","og_site_name":"Cryptomag","article_published_time":"2026-09-17T04:23:12+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/us-responds-brics.jpg?resize=1024,600","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Crypto Magazine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cryptomagz","twitter_site":"@cryptomagz","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Crypto Magazine","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240"},"author":{"name":"Crypto Magazine","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/#\/schema\/person\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040"},"headline":"California Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims","datePublished":"2026-09-17T04:23:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240"},"wordCount":326,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/wp-content\/uploads\/us-responds-brics-4150a9.webp","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240","url":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240","name":"California Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims - Cryptomag","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/wp-content\/uploads\/us-responds-brics-4150a9.webp","datePublished":"2026-09-17T04:23:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/#\/schema\/person\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/wp-content\/uploads\/us-responds-brics-4150a9.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/wp-content\/uploads\/us-responds-brics-4150a9.webp","width":1024,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=51240#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"California Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 93 Victims"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/","name":"Cryptomag","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/#\/schema\/person\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040","name":"Crypto Magazine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Crypto Magazine"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/cryptomag.finance","https:\/\/x.com\/cryptomagz"],"url":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/51241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}