Stanford Gets 110 Years for Role in $7 Billion Swindle

 R. Allen Stanford, the Texas financier convicted of fleecing 30,000 investors from 113 countries in a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, was sentenced on Thursday to 110 years in jail.

A defiant Mr. Stanford, in a rambling statement to the court before the sentencing, intermittently fought back tears and shuffled papers, and said, “I’m not up here to ask for sympathy or forgiveness. I’m up here to tell you from my heart I didn’t run a Ponzi scheme.”

He blamed the government for the collapse of his businesses and asserted that “we could have paid off every depositor and still have substantial assets remaining.”

In response, federal prosecutor, William J. Stellmach, called Mr. Stanford’s version of events “obscene.” 

“This is a man utterly without remorse,” Mr. Stellmach said. “From beginning to end, he treated all of his victims as roadkill.” 

“He went after the middle class, including people who didn’t have money to lose. People have lost their homes. They have come out of retirement.”

A federal jury in March convicted Mr. Stanford of 13 out of 14 counts of fraud in connection with a worldwide scheme over more than two decades in which he offered fraudulent high-interest certificates of deposit at the Stanford International Bank, which was based on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Prosecutors argued that Mr. Stanford had consistently lied to investors, promoting safe investments for money that he channeled into a luxurious lifestyle, a Swiss bank account and various business deals that almost never succeeded.  

Sept 2008 video

Allen Stanford incompetent for trial -US judge

* Stanford currently unable to assist in his defense-judge
* Indicted for alleged $7 billion fraud
* Stanford suffered 2009 head injury while in custody

(Reuters) - Financier Allen Stanford is incompetent to stand trial at this time over accusations that he led a $7 billion fraud, a U.S. judge in Texas ruled on Wednesday.

Stanford, who had been accustomed to jetting around the globe in private aircraft, was indicted in 2009 on 21 counts including securities fraud and money laundering. U.S. prosecutors accuse him of creating false accounting records, lying to investors and bribing a regulatory official in Antigua.

Stanford has pleaded not guilty and was previously scheduled to begin trial this week. But that was postponed amid uncertainty about his condition.

In a written ruling, U.S. District Judge David Hittner found that Stanford did not have the present mental capacity to assist his lawyers in his defense.

While incarcerated, Stanford sustained a head injury during a 2009 confrontation with another inmate and underwent surgery for repair of facial fractures.

Psychiatrists for both the government and the defense who examined Stanford also recommended that his anti-anxiety medication be withdrawn. One doctor testified that it was unclear whether Stanford is incompetent for trial because of the injury, or due to over-medication.

The government contends that Stanford is legally competent, but nevertheless asked the court to move him to a suitable facility for psychiatric evaluation.

A representative for the U.S. Attorney's office in Houston was not immediately available to comment on Wednesday.

Hittner rejected defense arguments that the judge could commit Stanford to a private medical facility. Instead, Hittner recommended that Stanford be sent to a medical facility within the U.S. Bureau of Prisons for treatment.

Ali Fazel, an attorney for Stanford, said once Stanford is weaned off his medication, additional tests will determine how much damage was caused by the prison injury, and the drugs.

"We just have to take it a step at a time," Fazel said.

The judge did not specify a new trial date, though he admonished attorneys on both sides to diligently prepare despite Stanford's absence.

The case in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas is United States v. Robert Allen Stanford, 09-cr-342.

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.

Allen Stanford trial set for 2011

The trial of alleged fraudster Allen Stanford will not take place until 2011, a judge has ruled.

Mr Stanford is accused of carrying out a $7 billion Ponzi scheme at his offshore bank in Antigua.

As he is deemed a flight risk by US authorities, he will spend the year before his January 2011 trial in custody.

The start date of the trial was a compromise between prosecutors, who wished to begin the trial in September 2010, while defence lawyers were pushing for a summer 2011 date in order to better prepare their case.

His chief financial officer James Davis has already pleaded guilty to fraud while Mr Stanford himself has denied all charges.

In September, he had his nose broken in a prison brawl and had to spend the weekend in hospital before being returned to his jail cell.

If convicted, Mr Stanford may have to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Allen Stanford stripped of his knighthood

Disgraced Texas financier R. Allen Stanford is being stripped of his knighthood in the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, the head of the government panel that approves the awards said Monday.
The National Honors Committee voted unanimously to revoke Stanford's title for embarrassing the nation by running an alleged Ponzi scheme out of his Antigua-based offshore bank, Chairwoman Jacqui Quinn-Leandro said.

Stanford, once a benefactor of the Antiguan government, is in jail in Texas awaiting charges for allegedly defrauding some 28,000 investors out of $7 billion by selling them what U.S. authorities say were bogus certificates of deposits.

"It's not that we're saying he's guilty, but it's the honor that has been brought into disrepute," said Quinn-Leandro, also a member of Parliament.

Stanford received his knighthood in 2006 from the governor general — the representative of Queen Elizabeth II in the country — and was widely known as "Sir Allen" in the Caribbean nation. Critics have alleged he used the title's prestige to help lure investors to buy CDs from his offshore bank while promising rates of return that were consistently higher than most financial institutions.

A group of investors has filed a lawsuit against Antigua and Barbuda alleging that local authorities failed to adequately monitor Stanford International Bank Ltd. and profited from the fraud. The financier provided loans to the government and became the country's largest private employer, with businesses that included a development company, cricket stadium, newspaper, an airline and two restaurants.

Quinn-Leandro said the six-member honors committee, made up of senators and members of Parliament, voted last month and formally informed Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer of its decision in an Oct. 26 letter, but did not make a public announcement.

All that is required next is for Spencer to forward the decision to the country's governor general for a signature, but that is considered a formality.

Stanford, who was nominated for his knighthood by the opposition Antigua Labor Party, was cheered and booed when he received the award, according to newspaper accounts from the time. Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, who still holds the post, remained seated as he shook the financier's hand during the ceremony and called the honor "most unfortunate."

As a member of the British Commonwealth, Antigua and Barbuda can propose its own knighthoods to the Queen through the governor general, though the honor is considered a local one.

Allen Stanford returns to jail after prison brawl

Businessman Allen Stanford, who is awaiting trial for an alleged $7 billion fraud, has returned to jail after being badly injured during a prison brawl last week.

Fifty-nine-year-old Stanford suffered a broken nose, two black eyes and mild concussion in the fight at the Joe Corley Detention Facility in Conroe, Texas.

He spent the weekend in hospital before being returned to his jail cell on Monday.

Mr Stanford had previously been taken to hospital in August 2009 for five days following heart problems.

The former chairman of the Stanford Financial Group, who saw his assets frozen following his arrest in February 2009, will stand trial on 21 separate criminal charges relating to a Ponzi scheme he is alleged to have run from his offshore bank in Antigua.

Mr Stanford is accused of targeting several sportsmen in the fraud, including baseball players Johnny Damon and J. D. Drew.

According to prosecutors, Mr Stanford used the proceeds to pay for an extravagant lifestyle of Caribbean homes and private jets.

Stanford funds restricted by UK investigators

More than $100 million in assets held by Texan financier Allen Stanford at a number of financial institutions in London have been seized by British financial investigators.

Mr Stanford is expected to hear today (June 30th) if he can be freed on bail ahead of his trial. He was arrested in the US earlier this month for alleged money laundering, multi-billion dollar fraud and obstruction of justice.

It is thought the funds currently restricted by the UK's Serious Fraud Office were acquired as part of a suspected investment fraud scheme worth $7 billion. Mr Stanford has pleaded not guilty to involvement in the scam.

The restraining order placed on the assets was requested by the US Department of Justice.

According to the Times, Mr Stanford could face up to 375 years in prison if he is convicted. He is accused of duping up to 30,000 people by selling them certificates of deposit with high rates of return from a bank that "vastly exaggerated" its assets.

The Wall Street Journal reported that during a bail hearing yesterday, prosecutor Gregg Costa claimed Mr Stanford had both the means and incentive to flee.

However, defence attorney Dick DeGuerin said Mr Stanford poses no flight risk, as he is penniless.

Allen Stanford Faces Massive Fraud Charges in Federal Court

* Stanford due in federal court in Virginia on Friday

* Expected to be sent to Houston to face criminal charges

* Surrendered to FBI on Thursday

* Accused in $8 billion fraud


RICHMOND, Va. - Texas billionaire Allen Stanford will appear in federal court in Virginia Friday to answer allegations he orchestrated a massive fraud through his Antigua bank that bilked investors out of millions of dollars.

Stanford, 59, arrived at the courthouse for a 1:30 EDT hearing before federal magistrate Hannah Lauck to face criminal charges after he surrendered to FBI agents in Virginia late on Thursday.

His case will be the first major financial crimes prosecution brought under the administration of President Barack Obama, who has vowed to crack down on economic malfeasance.

Stanford already faces civil charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that he fraudulently sold $8 billion in certificates of deposit with improbably high interest rates from his Stanford International Bank Ltd, headquartered in Antigua.

"He surrendered," Dick DeGuerin, Stanford's Texas attorney, told Reuters by telephone Thursday after speaking with his client. "He's in FBI custody."

Justice Department officials, including the U.S. attorney from Houston, plan to hold a news conference at noon EDT in Washington to announce the criminal charges, the U.S. attorney's office in Houston said.

Stanford, who holds dual U.S. and Antigua and Barbuda citizenship, denies any wrongdoing and has said he would put up "the fight of my life" if indicted.

"If the SEC had not come in and disemboweled a living, breathing strong organization the way they did, there's no question on God's green earth that everyone would have been made whole and we would have had a lot of money left over," Stanford told Reuters in an interview in April.


'MASSIVE PONZI SCHEME'

In its civil case, the SEC in February accused Stanford, his college roommate and three of their companies of carrying out a "massive Ponzi scheme" over at least a decade and misappropriating at least $1.6 billion of investors' money.

"This starts to bring closure for the victims," Jacob Frenkel, a former SEC enforcement official, said of the criminal indictment.

Stanford now faces concrete charges and "is no longer swinging at a pinata," said Frenkel, now an attorney in Rockville, Maryland.

Stanford, a golf and cricket promoter, is the first American to be knighted by Antigua and Barbuda in 2006. He made his first fortune in real estate in the early 1980s and expanded the family firm into a global wealth management company.

Before the SEC leveled the fraud charges, his personal fortune was estimated at $2.2 billion by Forbes magazine. Stanford was a generous sports patron and owned homes in Antigua, St. Croix, Florida and Texas.

To date, the only Stanford official to have faced criminal charges is Laura Pendergest-Holt, the chief investment officer for the Stanford Financial Group. She was arrested by the FBI in February and later freed on bail.

Pendergest-Holt and James Davis, Stanford's one-time roommate at Baylor University who served as the company's chief financial officer, were both named in the SEC's civil complaint.

Davis has not been charged with criminal activity and is cooperating with federal authorities, although his attorney has said he expects his client to be indicted.

Nigel Hamilton-Smith, the Antiguan official named to oversee the liquidation of the offshore bank that was run by Stanford, has accused the tycoon of using client funds to pay for jets, lavish homes and yachts.

Stanford's Antiguan liquidators and the company's U.S.-based receiver have been locked in a battle over control of the offshore bank.

Ralph Janvey, the Dallas lawyer appointed by U.S. District Judge David Godbey to oversee Stanford's assets and operations, has filed court papers arguing he should oversee the Antigua bank along with the U.S.-based Stanford entities he controls.

Stanford challenges SEC case

Billionaire financier Sir Alan Stanford has reportedly called on the US appeals court to intervene in the civil fraud case brought against him by market regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

According to court papers cited by Reuters, the Texas-born businessman is challenging a freeze on his assets and the appointment of Ralph Janvey as receiver for his businesses, including the Stanford International Bank (SIB). 

Sir Alan was charged in February with orchestrating an $8 billion Ponzi fraud. 

The SEC contested that he was involved in a "massive" deception involving the sale of so-called certificates of deposit that promised "improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates" through SIB. 

SIB chief financial officer James Davis and the Stanford Financial Group chief investment officer Laura Pendergest-Holt were also named in the SEC action. 

Sir Alan denies running a Ponzi scheme. 

Over the weekend, an attorney for the financier asked a federal court to release $10 million to help pay for his defense. 

Stanford accused 'refuses to cooperate' with fraud investigation

One of people accused of helping the billionaire businessman Sir Alan Stanford to orchestrate an $8 billion investment fraud is reportedly refusing to cooperate with US investigators. 

James Davis, chief financial officer at the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank (SIB), was named in a civil suit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 17th. 

He, along with Sir Alan, Stanford Financial Group chief investment officer Laura Pendergest-Holt and three Stanford group companies, is accused of helping to run a Ponzi scheme which used fabricated historical returns to lure investors into supposedly high-yield certificates of deposit sold through SIB. 

Bloomberg reports that in court papers filed in Dallas on February 27th, Mr Davis stated "I hereby assert my privilege against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution and decline to testify or provide an accounting."

Sir Allen and Mr Davis are not facing any criminal charges, the news service reports. 

Ms Pendergest-Holt was charged on February 25th with criminal obstruction of the SEC's investigation. She has been released on a $300,000 bond and is under electronic surveillance. 

FBI finds Sir Allen Stanford in Virginia

Sir Allen Stanford has been served with court orders charging him with operating a multi-billion dollar investment fraud after federal investigators found the tycoon in Fredericksburg, Virginia. 

The billionaire had not been seen in public since the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched its enforcement action against him earlier this week. 

As the SEC's case is a civil action, Sir Allen has not been arrested or placed in custody. However, the regulator has secured a court order freezing his assets and he is believed to have turned in his passport. 

The Texas-born businessman faces allegations of running a fraud of "shocking magnitude". He is said to have used fabricated historical data and promises of double-digit returns in all markets to sell around $8 billion of so-called certificates of deposit through his company, the Stanford International Bank (SIB). 

Last night, the BBC reported that authorities in Peru and Venezuela have taken actions against SIB and its parent group as panicked investors queue up to recover their money. Peru's securities regulator has suspended the Stanford Financial Group's operations for 30 days, while Venezuela said it would take control of the local SIB network.