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Welcome

Welcome to the website established by the Court appointed Receiver Kelly Crawford. Mr. Crawford was appointed the Receiver by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the “Receivership Court”) in a lawsuit brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission against Defendants First State Depository Company, LLC, Argent Asset Group, LLC, and Robert Leroy Higgins, in Case No. 22-1266.  The purpose of this website is to provide information regarding the receivership to persons or entities who did business with the Defendants.

 

 

notice

If you have not returned your Proof of Claim or Claim Confirmation and Delivery Instructions to the Receiver, or paid any surcharge assessed by the Receiver, you must do so by no later than September 15, 2023.  After that date, the Receiver will request the Court to order that the holdings of any person who has not filed a Proof of Claim, returned their Claim Confirmation and Delivery Instructions, or paid their surcharge (if applicable) are forfeited to the receivership estate.

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE RECEIVER TO CLAIMANTS

With more than $78 million of precious metals and currency missing from the First State Depository vaults, the question everyone asks is where is it? On Friday, June 9, 2023 I engaged a team of private investigators and metal detectors to search Higgins’ home. We discovered approximately 36 ounces of gold hidden in the ceiling of his basement. We also discovered some foreign currency and rare coins hidden under the cushion of a love seat in his bedroom. In addition, we obtained evidence that Higgins has been selling precious metals. Our findings were reported to law enforcement and on the morning of June 10, 2023, Higgins was arrested and taken into custody by federal agents. I am committed to doing my best to search for the missing assets.
Please be patient with my team as they process delivery orders to return holdings to the depositors. The process is taking much longer than anticipated. Once we receive your delivery instructions, they have to be sorted as to whether goods are being shipped by federal express, transferred to another depository, or through a third party courier. The holdings then need to be pulled by the accountants at the depository. They then count the contents and compare the count to the claim, photograph the contents, and prepare the contents for transfer. Once they contents are prepared for transfer, we determine the shipping and handling costs, and send an invoice through square to the depositor. Once that invoice is paid, the contents are ready for transfer. All of this takes time. At this point, it may be 6-8 weeks after you have delivered your delivery instructions before your holdings are ready for transfer.
Finally, the Court extended the deadline for objections to my Revised Claims Report until June 30, 2023. If you have an objection to my Revised Claims Report, please provide it to me, and do not file it with the Court.
Thank you for your continued patience.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING INSURANCE FOR DELIVERIES

For those depositors who wish to have their deliveries insured, the Receiver has been able to confirm that the Lloyd’s policy insuring First State Depository will insure shipments with certain carriers listed below up to the limits specified.  To reimburse the receivership estate for the costs associated with the insurance premiums, the charge to each depositor for this insurance is also set forth below:

FSD INSURANCE OPTIONS                                                         CHARGE

UPS with adult signature – limit of $50,000 per box                $200

Federal Express – limit of $75,000 per box                                  $200

Federal Express with Adult Signature – limit of $100k            $250

Approved Security Carrier – limits of $5 million                         $300

          Brinks

          Malca Amit

          Loomis Fargo

          Ferrari Express

          Via Mat

          Positive Protection Inc.

 For the shipment of your holdings, please let the Receiver know which service you want to ship your holdings, if you want the shipment to be insured, and the limit of liability.   The Receiver will include the insurance cost set forth above, in addition to shipping and handling fees, in an invoice to you that must be paid prior to shipment. 

Information Regarding the Criminal Charges Against Robert Higgins

One of the most common questions I receive from depositors is whether Robert Higgins is in jail. I serve as the Receiver in a civil case against Mr. Higgins. It is not a criminal case. There are two criminal cases pending against Mr. Higgins in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. In one criminal case, Mr. Higgins faces charges for alleged tax fraud and for alleged fraud perpetrated against a victim who purchased metals from Mr. Higgins through his company Certified Asset Management, Inc. (“CAMI”) and Certified Assets Management International, LLC (“CAM-INT”). Here is a copy of the Second Superseding Indictment in that criminal case. In the other criminal case, Mr. Higgins faces charges of committing perjury, making a false declaration before the Court, and attempted witness intimidation. Here is a copy of the Criminal Complaint against Higgins in that criminal case. Mr. Higgins was arrested for a short time in June, but a magistrate judge released Mr. Higgins to home confinement. The Department of Justice is appealing the Magistrate’s decision.

WARNING

Please be advised that if you choose to have your holdings shipped to you via federal express, the limit of liability of federal express is $1,000 per box.  Depositors are responsible for obtaining their own insurance for the shipments.  If you choose to have your holdings shipped via federal express you need to provide the Receiver with a valid federal express account number to charge.  If you do not have an account number with federal express, the Receiver can use his account number, but will send you an invoice for the shipping cost plus a $50 – $500 handling fee that must be paid before shipment.  

NOTICE OF HANDLING FEE

For all transfers to customers, each customer will be required to pay a handling fee between $50 and $500 depending upon the size of the transfer.  

Next Steps After Filing Your Claim 

Once you have submitted your claim to the Receiver, the Receiver’s team will assign the claim a number, review the claim and divide the claims between those in the uncompromised category (those in which holdings are not missing) and those in the compromised category (holdings are missing).  The Receiver’s team will review claims in the uncompromised category first.  The Receiver will provide those in the uncompromised category with a claim confirmation form that informs each claimant of the surcharge that must be paid to the Receiver within 20 days.  The claim confirmation form will also request each claimant to provide delivery instructions for the metals, currency, or other valuables.  The Receiver’s team will then review claims in the compromised category and provide those claimants with a claim confirmation form that identifies the claim amount equal to the value of the metals, currency, or other valuables missing, and request delivery instructions for the metals, currency, or other valuables remaining at the depository.

DO NOT COME TO 100 TODDS LANE IN WILMINGTON TO PICK UP YOUR METALS UNTIL: 1) YOU HAVE RECEIVED A CLAIM CONFIRMATION FORM FROM THE RECEIVER AND RETURNED THE FORM TO THE RECEIVER WITH PAYMENT OF A SURCHARGE, IF ANY; AND 2) YOU HAVE MADE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE RECEIVER’S STAFF.   IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN APPOINTMENT, YOU WILL NOT BE GIVEN ACCESS TO THE DEPOSITORY TO PICK UP YOUR HOLDINGS. 

Deliveries of metals, currency, and other assets to depositors will begin in the middle of April and take several weeks.  

ACCOUNTANT’S REPORT

The report of the Receiver’s accountants, which includes their audit and physical inventory of the assets at 100 Todds Lane, Wilmington, Delaware is available here.  Depositors, using your FSD account number, please open Exhibit A and find your account number on Exhibit 1 first.  If your account number is not listed on Exhibit 1, then go to Exhibit 2 and locate your account.  Exhibit 3 will then provide you the details of what was located and what was not located for your account.  

About

The Receiver

Kelly Crawford is an attorney in Dallas, Texas.  He has served as the receiver or counsel to the receiver in more than 15 cases brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the Federal Trade Commission during the past 20 years.  He has been appointed the receiver by federal courts in each of the four districts of Texas, as well as by the federal court for the Southern District of New York.  He is a founder of the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers.

The Receiver Kelly Crawford may be contacted by telephone at 214-420-4293 or email using the link below. When contacting Mr. Crawford, if he is not available please leave a message and either Mr. Crawford or one of his attorneys will respond to your message.

TIMELINE

 
 
  • 09/27/22

    Statutory Restraining Order (“SRO”) Filed

    United States District Court for the District of Delaware files Statutory Restraining Order

    View Statutory Restraining Order

  • 10/04/22

    Receiver takes possession and control of the principal office of the Defendants and begins inventory and seizure of assets

  • 10/07/22

    Court extends Statutory Restraining Order and postpones preliminary injunction hearing until December 2, 2022

  • 12/02/22

    Doc 57 Order Of Preliminary Injunction, Appointment of Receiver [Kelly Crawford] And For Other Equitable Relief Against Defendant

    View Doc order 57

  • 01/10/23

    Doc 78 The Report of the Receiver's Accounting Firm

    View Report

  • 01/10/23

    APPENDIX to Report on Facility Inventory and Analysis

    View Appendix

  • 04/10/23

    April 1 Deadline for submitting proofs of claim expired

  • 06/09/23

    Receiver searches Higgins home with metal detectors and discovers gold coins in ceiling and foreign currency

  • 06/10/23

    Higgins is arrested at his home and taken into custody

  • 06/20/23

    Court enters Consent Order of Permanent Injunction and Other Statutory Equitable Relief against Defendants First State Depository and Argent*

  • 06/23/23

    Detention hearing for Robert Higgins at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 2A of the Federal Courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware

  • 06/23/23

    Court enters Default Judgment against Defendant Robert Higgins*

  • * Please note that the entry of judgments against the Defendants does not mean the Defendants will pay the amount owed under the judgments or that the amount of money in the judgments will be available for payment to claimants. The Receiver is seeking to recover assets of the Defendants, which are limited, toward payment of the judgments.

  • 06/26/23

    Magistrate releases Robert Higgins from incarceration

  • 07/14/23

    At a contempt hearing, the Court orders Higgins to turn over the 2006 Hummer H2 he purchased in his wife’s name to the Receiver, and the Receiver takes possession of the Hummer

  • 08/15/23

    For any proofs of claim that have not been received by the Receiver as of September 15, 2023, the Receiver will request the Court to order that the holdings of those persons or entities are forfeited to the receivership estate.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions