Yesterday, we noted BusinessWeek reporting that Dick DeGuerin, the high-profile Texas lawyer who has represented Tom DeLay and David Koresh, among other bold-faced names, might have signed up to defend accused massive Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford.
And today, the magazine confirms that DeGuerin is on the case — and that the official Stanford fight back, after weeks of being portrayed as a corrupt, Gatsby-esque fraud — is underway.
In an interview, DeGuerin wastes no time in giving a glimpse of the strategy he’ll likely employ: questioning the SEC’s motives in bringing the case. “This is not a Ponzi scheme,” DeGuerin told the magazine. “The SEC is using Stanford as a distraction from its failures in Madoff. This is not Madoff.”
The SEC, of course, has been widely criticized for its failures in the case of Madoff, who went undetected for years while running a multi-billion Ponzi scheme.
DeGuerin continued: “There are hard assets for evey dollar invested” with Stanford’s offshore bank in Antigua. “The losses in the Stanford case are right in line with the stock market.”
The SEC, in BusinessWeek’s words, “has alleged that Stanford took at least $1.6 billion in personal loans from his offshore bank and deceived investors about the assets the bank was investing its money in. The SEC alleges the high-yields on the certificates of deposit sold by Stanford International Bank were deceptive and unsustainable.”
DeGuerin is also wisely moving to ensure that, if nothing else, he’ll be compensated for his work. He said he’s going to ask a court to unfreeze some Stanford’s assets, so that the billionaire can pay for a defense.
Looks like things could be about to get interesting…
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