Stanford Indicted for $7B Ponzi Scheme

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 19, 2009 3:56 PM CDT

(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... Read full story »

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Department of Justice • SEC • billionaire • Antigua • Ponzi scheme • federal indictment • bank fraud • Stanford Financial Group • Robert Allen Stanford • Securities and Exchange Commission

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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 regulator called him "Big Brother," reports the New York Times. Stanford later gave the regulator Super Bowl tickets and deposited bribes into his Swiss bank account, according to a witness. More»

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. She is currently free on a $300,000 bond on another obstruction charge related to the SEC case. More»

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

Stanford Pulled in $5B While SEC Dithered

Feds ignored employee warnings, fumbled over jurisdiction

(NEWSER) - When the Securities and Exchange Commission sent probing questionnaires in 2005 to investors who’d bought certificates of deposit from Stanford Group, panic set in. “Then it all seemed to go away,” says one former Stanford employee. Concerns over jurisdiction stayed the SEC’s hand for almost 4 years, Bloomberg reports, while the alleged Ponzi scheme grew from $3.8 billion to $8.5 billion. More»

Stanford Bank in Antigua Missing $8B

'It appears to be a Ponzi scheme,' investigator says

(NEWSER) - Investigators rummaging around Allen Stanford's Antiguan bank have confirmed media reports that $8 billion is missing, the Times of London reports. “The $8 billion you hear about in the media isn’t there,” one official told customers outside the Stanford International Bank. "It appears to be a Ponzi scheme.” More»

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Stanford Indicted for $7B Ponzi Scheme

Department of Justice • SEC • billionaire • Antigua • Ponzi scheme • federal indictment • bank fraud • Stanford Financial Group • Robert Allen Stanford • Securities and Exchange Commission

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