Robert Allen Stanford

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Ponzi Schemer Stanford Gets 110 Years

Texas financier called 'ruthless predator' by prosecutors

(Newser) - R. Allen Stanford's epic fall from billionaire to imprisoned fraudster came to a conclusion today as a judge sentenced him to 110 years in prison, reports the Wall Street Journal . Stanford was convicted in March of bilking investors in a $7 billion Ponzi scheme that spanned 20 years. Prosecutors...

Allen Stanford Found Guilty in $7B Ponzi Scheme

He could face more than 20 years in prison

(Newser) - Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford, whose financial empire once spanned the Americas, was convicted today on all but one of the 14 counts he faced for allegedly bilking investors out of more than $7 billion in a massive Ponzi scheme he operated for 20 years. Jurors reached their verdicts against...

Obama, Others Won't Return Ponzi Cash

Receiver wants the $1.8M Allen Stanford gave to politicians

(Newser) - The receiver in charge of recovering money for R. Allen Stanford's fleeced investors is trying to recover some $1.8 million the alleged Ponzi schemer gave to a host of political causes—but they refuse to return the money, Reuters reports. Among the holdouts: President Obama's campaign, and...

Prosecutors: Alleged Ponzi Schemer Stanford Faking Amnesia

Prison evaluators say he's performing so badly on tests, he can't be trying

(Newser) - R. Allen Stanford is only pretending to have amnesia, prosecutors told a judge yesterday, urging him to declare the alleged Ponzi schemer fit to stand trial. Stanford's trial has been on hold since January, when doctors testified that he might have suffered a brain injury in a prison brawl....

Société Générale Probed Over Role in Ponzi Scheme

Justice Dept. will probe whether subsidiary ignored suspicious transactions

(Newser) - The Justice Department has launched a criminal probe against a subsidiary of Société Générale that alleged Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford funneled money through, based on suspicions that it ignored some fishy transactions, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . A Société Générale spokesman confirmed...

Alleged Ponzi Schemer Judged Unfit to Stand Trial

R. Allen Stanford 'mentally impaired,' judge decides

(Newser) - Jailed Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford is mentally impaired and incompetent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled yesterday. Psychiatrists testified that Stanford, who is accused of masterminding a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, is suffering from a major depressive disorder, an addiction to anti-anxiety medication, and a brain injury he...

Watchdog: SEC Sued Goldman to Bury Ponzi Probe

SEC official quashed Stanford probe then sought to represent him

(Newser) - The SEC in April faced the release of a report slamming it for bungling an alleged Ponzi scheme. So what's a watchdog to do? Sue Goldman Sachs the same day, the agency's own internal watchdog told a Senate committee yesterday. Inspector-general H. David Kotz said it "would strain credulity...

'Savagely Beaten' Ponzi Schemer Wants Out of Prison

It's made him 'a wreck of a man,' says lawyer

(Newser) - Robert Allen Stanford, the Texas man accused of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, wants out of prison, saying that his incarceration ahead of his trial is a violation of his constitutional right to due process. Stanford, who has been " savagely beaten " while in prison, has been jailed...

Sir Allen Banged Up After Jailhouse Fight

Stanford back in cell after suffering broken nose, concussion

(Newser) - Allen Stanford is back in his jail cell today after spending the weekend recuperating from injuries suffered in a fight with another inmate last week. The alleged Ponzi schemer was taken to the hospital with a concussion, a broken nose, and two black eyes. “He is in reasonably good...

Stanford 'Fraud Scheme Sealed With Blood Oath'

Banker accused of giving bribes, Super Bowl tickets to Caribbean regulator

(Newser) - Alleged Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford cut his wrist and made a secret blood pact with the banking regulator of the island of Antigua, where his bank operated, according to court documents. Stanford and the official pressed their bloody wrists together in a "brotherhood ceremony," after which the...

Jailed Financier Stanford Wants Cell With Better A/C

Alleged fraudster files a motion to move to cushier Houston jail

(Newser) - Accused financier R. Allen Stanford is demanding he be moved from his current jail to a nicer facility in Houston, on grounds that his current cell is not comfortable enough, the New York Post reports. Stanford, charged with swindling investors out of $7 billion, complained through his lawyer that the...

Judge Revokes Stanford Bond
 Judge Revokes Stanford Bond 
Jun 30, 2009 3:10 PM CDT

Judge Revokes Stanford Bond

(Newser) - A US district judge today revoked bond for Texas financier R. Allen Stanford, who's charged with swindling investors out of $7 billion. David Hittner approved a request by prosecutors to overturn a magistrate judge's decision to allow Stanford freed on $500,000 bond pending his trial. Prosecutors argued that Stanford's...

Stanford Ponzi Scheme Case Entangles Baseball Stars

(Newser) - The receiver in the R. Allen Stanford case wants seven current and former baseball stars to turn over millions they once invested in Stanford’s alleged Ponzi scheme, intending to divvy up the money among Stanford’s other victims, the Washington Times reports. He’s asking for a combined $9....

Vijay Offered $500K for Bail of Pal Stanford

(Newser) - Vijay Singh is sticking by embattled buddy and alleged swindler R. Allen Stanford. The star golfer, who's been sporting the Stanford Companies logo even though he no longer gets paid to do so, offered to put up $500,000 of the billionaire’s bail, reports CNBC. He was denied the...

Stanford Pleads Not Guilty in $7B Ponzi Scheme

Prosecutors call financier flight risk, ask he be held without bail

(Newser) - Financier Robert Allen Stanford and three former associates pleaded not guilty today to federal charges they operated a $7 billion Ponzi scheme out of Antigua, the Houston Chronicle reports. Prosecutors asked the judge not to release Stanford, 59, on bail, saying his wealth, international connections and prospect of a long...

Stanford Indicted for $7B Ponzi Scheme

(Newser) - Alleged billionaire fraudster Robert Allen Stanford and six of his associates were indicted today on charges that they ran a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, the AP reports. Stanford turned himself in to authorities yesterday. “A fair jury will find him not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” Stanford’s...

Stanford Surrenders to FBI
 Stanford Surrenders to FBI 
Jun 19, 2009 12:26 AM CDT

Stanford Surrenders to FBI

Alleged fraudster turns himself in after grand jury hands down criminal charges

(Newser) - Sir Robert Allen Stanford turned himself in to authorities soon after criminal charges were filed against him yesterday, the BBC reports. The billionaire financier is now in FBI custody, according to his lawyer. Stanford, whose firm Stanford Financial was shut down by authorities earlier this year, already faces civil charges...

Stanford Exec Faces First Criminal Charge

Probe of alleged Ponzi scheme nabs chief investment officer

(Newser) - A federal grand jury in Houston yesterday handed up the first criminal indictment in Stanford Financial Group's alleged Ponzi scheme, reports the Houston Chronicle. Chief investment officer Laura Pendergest-Holt, 35, faces two counts of obstruction. She and boss Allen Stanford already face accusations in a civil suit by the SEC....

Stanford Was a Drug Informant: Report

Fraudster was likely shielded from SEC in 2006 for his trouble

(Newser) - Allen Stanford may have received earlier protection from the SEC by working as a drug trade informant, a BBC investigation has found. The accused fraudster’s bank paid $3.1 million to the DEA a decade ago as a middleman for a Mexican drug lord, and in 2006 an SEC...

Stung by Madoff, SEC Steps Up Pace, Triples Fraud Cases

Embarrassed committee gets aggressive with enforcement

(Newser) - Haunted by the failure to catch Bernie Madoff, the Securities and Exchange Commission is dramatically stepping up its investigation workload, reports the LA Times. Since February, the SEC has frozen the assets of 27 fraud suspects, compared to seven in the same period last year. “The clear message from...

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