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Financier R. Allen Stanford, accused of swindling investors out of $7 billion, has been jailed since Friday. (Pat Sullivan/ Associated Press) |
Stanford still in jail in $7b fraud case
Bloomberg News
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June 30, 2009
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CHICAGO - R. Allen Stanford, the Texas financier accused of swindling investors of $7 billion, remained in jail overnight as a judge considers his release on bail.
After a hearing yesterday in Houston, US District Judge David Hittner told lawyers for both sides that he would not rule earlier than midafternoon today on whether Stanford may be freed on bail pending trial.
Prosecutors asked Hittner Friday to revoke the $500,000 bail granted Stanford a day earlier by a federal magistrate, arguing that the money at risk was not a sufficient sum to deter Stanford from fleeing before trial. They reiterated that stance yesterday in papers submitted to the court and in their argument to the judge.
Stanford, 59, is accused of defrauding at least 30,000 investors in a scheme that involved the sale of certificates of deposit through Stanford International Bank Ltd., based in Antigua. He has denied all allegations of civil and criminal wrongdoing.
Hittner told the parties that no matter how he rules, he will give them time to challenge the order before the US Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
