Stanford Pulled in $5B While SEC Dithered

(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 lawyer said. He argues that any missing money is the result of the negative impact of the investigation. More»

Former employee warned agency, others of 'Ponzi scheme'

(NEWSER) - A former employee of Sir Allen Stanford warned the SEC in 2003 of an “illegal Ponzi scheme” involving his firms, but regulators brushed off the allegations, the Financial Times reports. The whistleblower also told another regulatory body that one of Stanford’s companies was “engaged in a Ponzi scheme to defraud its clients,” but regulators didn’t come down on the alleged $8 billion fraud until last week. More»

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 to think it was coincidental," the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

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 investigation into potential Ponzi operations was dropped, allegedly at the request of another government agency. More»

Billionaire denies running Ponzi scheme, points finger at former CFO

(NEWSER) - “As God is my witness, there is no Ponzi scheme," accused swindler Sir Robert Allen Stanford told the Houston Chronicle yesterday. His financial companies were well-run before the government seized and "disemboweled" them, claimed the billionaire. If any fraud was committed at Stanford Financial, it was done by its former CFO, he charged. More»