Syracuse Woman Gets Federal Sentence
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By John DeGroff-
Higgins was in court before Judge Robert L. Miller Jr., United States District Court of Indiana, South Bend Division. She received a sentence of 33 months to run concurrently on six different counts.
She was convicted on one count each of fraud, swindle, two counts of fraud by wire, radio or television, one count of bank fraud, and one count of making false, fraudulent and fictitious statements and representations.
She also will serve three years supervised release for each count, to run concurrently, and has been ordered to make restitution to Zions Bank in the amount of $318,700.
In 2007, Higgins and her husband, Patrick, applied for a loan from Countrywide Financial Corp. She greatly inflated the couple's business income from Higgins Sport and Lawn to qualify for the loan.
A series of false federal income tax returns were created in 2008 that inflated the couple's income and their ability to repay the loan. By 2009, insufficient fund checks were being used to try and repay the loan.
Court documents further state that the case against her started when another Higgins business, Higgins Powersports, allegedly defrauded an individual in a consignment agreement. National Powersports of Poway, Calif., was also a victim of the Higgins, court records indicate.
Higgins is scheduled to report March 4, no later than 9 a.m., to begin serving her sentence. It is unclear at this time where she will be incarcerated.[[In-content Ad]]
Higgins was in court before Judge Robert L. Miller Jr., United States District Court of Indiana, South Bend Division. She received a sentence of 33 months to run concurrently on six different counts.
She was convicted on one count each of fraud, swindle, two counts of fraud by wire, radio or television, one count of bank fraud, and one count of making false, fraudulent and fictitious statements and representations.
She also will serve three years supervised release for each count, to run concurrently, and has been ordered to make restitution to Zions Bank in the amount of $318,700.
In 2007, Higgins and her husband, Patrick, applied for a loan from Countrywide Financial Corp. She greatly inflated the couple's business income from Higgins Sport and Lawn to qualify for the loan.
A series of false federal income tax returns were created in 2008 that inflated the couple's income and their ability to repay the loan. By 2009, insufficient fund checks were being used to try and repay the loan.
Court documents further state that the case against her started when another Higgins business, Higgins Powersports, allegedly defrauded an individual in a consignment agreement. National Powersports of Poway, Calif., was also a victim of the Higgins, court records indicate.
Higgins is scheduled to report March 4, no later than 9 a.m., to begin serving her sentence. It is unclear at this time where she will be incarcerated.[[In-content Ad]]
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