Allen Stanford calls for Ponzi lawsuit to be dismissed

Lawyers for Allen Stanford have called for the case alleging he masterminded a $7 billion Ponzi scheme to be thrown out of court.

According to Mr Stanford's attorneys, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not managed to lay out a strong enough case against the businessman.

Christina Sarchio, his legal representative, told Bloomberg that the latest's SEC complaint, which is 32 pages long, does not stand up to examination.

"It doesn't really have any specifics about what Allen Stanford said, to whom he said it or how the SEC even has jurisdiction over the certificates of deposit, because they’re not securities," she said.

Mr Stanford, who is awaiting a trial scheduled to take place in January 2011, has been accused of carrying out a "massive" fraud that involved the sale of certificates of deposit through banks.

Last September, Mr Stanford had his nose broken in a prison brawl and had to spend two days in hospital before being returned to his cell.