Allen Stanford

Baucus Committee: We Prefer Different Approach To Tax Haven Problem

Zachary Roth | February 25, 2009, 4:55PM

Yesterday, we revealed how a bill that might have sought to close off-shore tax loopholes -- and which might have helped catch Allen Stanford -- died in Max Baucus' Senate Finance committee in 2007.

Now, a Finance committee aide has provided an emailed statement to TPMmuckraker, making the case that the committee didn't take up the bill, sponsored by Carl Levin, because Baucus differed with some aspects of the bill's approach, and noting that Baucus is working on a separate bill to address the problem.

In a nutshell, according to the statement, Baucus favors an approach more targeted at giving the IRS the necessary tools to detect tax cheats than was the Levin bill, which took a broader tack.

The Chairman announced in 2008 that he is writing legislation to address the use of tax havens by individuals. In particular, Senator Baucus and his staff are working with Treasury and the IRS to give them the right tools to detect the tax abuse we are all concerned about. Senator Baucus's goal is to move the sharpest possible bill that will give the IRS tools -- including additional reporting requirements -- to determine when a taxpayer uses a tax haven and the identity of the user.

It will be important to move legislation that gives the IRS the best chance to find abusers in the first place, in order to apply certain rebuttable presumptions that would make income US-sourced income on which US taxes should be paid.

The bill you mention is quite broad, and while it creates a series of changes to the burden of proof, that only helps once the IRS has detected the use of a tax haven.

The Finance Committee actively fights offshore tax havens - in the JOBS bill with inversions policy, tax shelter penalties, and increased transparency with regard to tax shelter promoters; in last year's military bill, with provisions to stop US companies with Federal contracts from setting up entities in tax havens to run employees through in order to avoid employment taxes. FOGEI/FORI in the energy bill tightened up a bit the way oil and gas pay US tax on foreign-earned income. Other proposals have been made public as well, particularly with regard to Bermuda reinsurance. The Committee also sent the GAO to Ugland House in the Cayman Islands to investigate one of the most notorious suspected tax havens in the world. And the Committee will take this issue up again at a hearing in March.

In other words, according to the aide, this was an issue of legitimate policy differences -- not an effort by Baucus to kill legislation opposed by a contributor.

We'll be watching for those hearings in March.

Allen Stanford

Ney Praised Stanford In Congressional Record -- Just As He Did For Abramoff

Zachary Roth | February 24, 2009, 6:21PM

Did Allen Stanford get the Jack Abramoff treatment from Bob Ney?

Via the Sunlight Foundation, check out what Ney, the Ohio GOP congressman who went to jail for his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal, entered into the Congressional Record in September 2005:

Mr. Ney: Mr. Speaker --

Whereas, Allen R. Stanford has been recognized as the 2006 Recipient of the "Excellence in Leadership Award" by the Inter-American Economic Council ; and

Whereas, Allen R. Stanford has been acknowledged for his performance and leadership in the areas of finance and investments; and

Whereas, Allen R. Stanford should be commended for his service as the CEO of the Stanford Financial Group based in Houston, Texas.

Therefore, I join with the residents of the entire 18th Congressional District of Ohio in honoring and congratulating Allen R. Stanford for his outstanding accomplishments.

We already knew that Stanford and Ney, who sat on the House Financial Services committee, were tight. Here they're positioned right next to each other at a 2004 Washington event put on by the Stanford-backed Inter-American Economic Council.

(Looks like Ney even got a speaking gig at that event).

And Ney's chief of staff, Wil Heaton -- who also pleaded guilty in connection with the Abramoff scheme -- went on that now-famous (kind of) 2005 junket to Antigua for lawmakers and their aides, paid for by the IAEC.

But the statement unearthed by the Sunlight Foundation suggests the relationship was even cozier. Indeed, it fits an intriguing pattern:

According to Abramoff's plea agreement, one of the "official acts" that Ney took on behalf of Abramoff was an October 2000 agreement "to insert a statement into the Congressional Record which praised the new owner of the Florida gaming company, Abramoff's business partner."

The Abramoff partner was Adam Kidan, who in 2005 pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud in connection to his venture with Abramoff. Abramoff and Kidan gave $10,000, in Ney's name, to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Just as Abramoff and Kidan sought to get a PR boost by having nice things said about them in Congress, Stanford may have also have stood to benefit from Ney's move. Stanford's ability to attract investors depended on maintaining a sterling reputation. Having his "outstanding accomplishments" praised in the Congressional Record could go a long way to polishing that reputation.

What might Ney have gotten in return? Well, he received $26,200 in campaign contributions from Stanford Financial Group employees. And, even more interestingly, the Sunlight Foundation's Paul Blumenthal notes that the majority of that sum, $14,200, came just over a month after the Congressional Record statement -- after Ney had gotten nothing from Stanford for all of 2005.

Blumenthal also notes that, during more trying times for the congressman, Stanford became a contributor to Ney's legal defense fund.

So, memo to federal investigators: if you see Bob Ney praising anyone else in the Congressional Record, it might be worth getting a little suspicious.

Allen Stanford

Bill That Might Have Helped Catch Stanford Died In Senate Finance Committee

Zachary Roth | February 24, 2009, 1:58PM

It's clear by this point that Allen Stanford put a lot of energy into wooing members of Congress. He was a prodigious political giver over the last decade, and even seems to have paid for some lucky lawmakers to soak up the sun in Antigua.

But few people, we're guessing, would choose to hang out with John Sweeney, Katherine Harris and co. just for fun. So what did Stanford want in return?

Over at TPMDC, Elana provided part of the answer in two posts that explain how Stanford's firm helped fight an effort to crack down on international money laundering during the late Clinton years, as well as how, shortly after, he met with Martin Frost, at the time the chair of the House Democratic caucus (and to whose political groups Stanford was contributing soft money), in a bid to convince Frost to oppose anti-money laundering initiatives.

But that was hardly the last congressional effort to deal with the problems of offshore business operations. In February 2007, Sen. Carl Levin, joined by then-senators Norm Coleman and Barack Obama, introduced the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, which would have closed offshore tax loopholes and forced companies to disclose far more information about their operations.

The bill listed 34 jurisdictions as probable locations for U.S. tax evasion -- one of which was Antigua and Barbuda, the Caribbean island nation where Stanford's sprawling financial empire was headquartered.

Although the measure was not primarily intended to root out large-scale frauds like the one Stanford is now accused of orchestrating, it likely would nonetheless have done so, as a "nice side benefit", according to Robert McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice, simply because it would have given US authorities access to far more information about offshore businesses.

What happened to the bill? Levin's office told us it came under the jurisdiction of the Senate Finance committee, which appears never to have brought it to a vote.

Since 2000, Finance chair Max Baucus has received $1000 from Stanford's firm, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And Chuck Schumer has taken $17,000, more than all but sitting five members of Congress*.

During 2007, Stanford paid $500,000 to Ben Barnes' firm to lobby the Senate on a range of issues, including "lobbying issues related to banking" according to Senate lobbying disclosure records.

It's worth clarifying: Stanford is hardly the only businessman who'd potentially have had a lot to lose from efforts to crack down on offshore tax loopholes. Numerous Fortune 500 companies have offshore operations that could help them avoid paying US taxes, a recent GAO report found. And "fair tax" advocates tell TPMmuckraker that a broad range range of corporate interests has, over the last decade, been involved in preserving such loopholes. So even if Stanford's influence with lawmakers was a factor here, it's not as if he would have been working alone.

A spokesman for the Senate Finance committee pledged to provide TPMmuckraker with more information about the circumstances under which Levin's bill died. We'll update with anything else we learn.

* This sentence has been edited from an earlier version which referred to the contributions from Stanford received by Bill Nelson, a current finance committee member. Nelson did not join the committee until January of this year -- after the period in question.

Joe Biden

Report: Biden's Relatives Ran Fund Marketed By Stanford

Zachary Roth | February 24, 2009, 10:05AM

A fund of hedge funds run by Vice President Biden's son and brother -- Hunter Biden and James Biden -- was marketed exclusively by Allen Stanford's companies, reports the Wall Street Journal.

From the paper:

The $50 million fund was jointly branded between the Bidens' Paradigm Global Advisors LLC and a Stanford Financial Group entity and was known as the Paradigm Stanford Capital Management Core Alternative Fund. Stanford-related companies marketed the fund to investors and also invested about $2.7 million of their own money in the fund, according to a lawyer for Paradigm. Paradigm Global Advisors is owned through a holding company by the vice president's son, Hunter, and Joe Biden's brother, James.

The fund has offered to turn over the $2.7 million investment it received from Mr. Stanford's firm in 2007 to a court-appointed receiver in the SEC's civil fraud case involving Mr. Stanford, according to Paradigm's attorney, Marc X. LoPresti. The fund terminated its relationship with Mr. Stanford's companies after the SEC filed civil charges against them last week, Mr. LoPresti said.

Paradigm's lawyer told the Journal that the Bidens never met or communicated with Mr. Stanford. "There is no connection between the Bidens and Allen Stanford or Stanford period, full stop," he said. "There never was any meeting between any member of the Biden family, no phone calls, zero correspondence."

Stanford was charged last week by the SEC with orchestrating an $8 billion investment scam. He has cultivated ties to a slew of Washington lawmakers.

A Paradigm marketer, Jeffrey Schneider, told the Journal he brought in the Stanford business.

According to Paradigm's lawyer, companies owned by Stanford put up $2.7 million in seed money and marketed the fund. SEC records show the fund, launched in June 2007, had 104 investors with assets of $49.8 million, as of November 2008.

It's hard to know what to make of this for now. But there seems to be more information yet to come out about the fee structure of the arrangement.

The paper reports:

Under an agreement, Stanford was entitled to share in a portion of the fund's management and performance fees, Mr. LoPresti [Paradigm's lawyer] said. "That's all I'm going to say on the fee side of things," he said.

Just what the White House needs.

Allen Stanford

For Stanford, A Long Trail Of Run-Ins With Authorities

Zachary Roth | February 23, 2009, 12:13PM

Relatively few Americans had heard of Allen Stanford until the last week or so. But it turns out that, over the last decade, the Texas billionaire had attracted the scrutiny of a range of government authorities, and been the subject of several civil suits -- so much so that it's hard to believe it took until last week for him to be formally charged.

Let's recap what we know about the various inquiries, investigations, and lawsuits focused on Stanford's sprawling financial empire over the last decade:

Circa 1998

- Stanford writes in a letter to the US ambassador to Antigua that he has been investigated by numerous agencies over the years, and none had found evidence of wrongdoing.

1999

- After Stanford finds that a former Mexican drug lord had used his bank to hide or launder money, he voluntarily makes out a cashier's check worth $3.1 million, and gives it to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

- The Treasury Department places Antigua -- where Stanford's business is based, and with whose government he is cozy -- on its money-laundering watch list.

Circa 1999

- Texas securities regulators find evidence of potential money laundering involving Stanford. They refer it to the FBI and the SEC, because it involves offshore banks. Texas securities commissioner Denise Voigt Crawford later tells the state legislative committee: "Why it took 10 years for the feds to move on it, I cannot answer." She added: "We worked with the FBI and the SEC and basically gave them the case. We told them what we'd seen and they were going to run with it."

2005

- A lawsuit filed in Florida accuses Stanford of aiding a Ponzi scheme.

2006

- The SEC's Fort Worth office opens an investigation into Stanford's business, but is asked by another agency to "stand down," and complies. (Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who chairs the House Domestic Policy subcommittee, asked late last week that the agency turn over documents related to that sequence of events.)

2006

- A second Florida lawsuit, this one filed by a former employee, accused Stanford of being involved in a Ponzi scheme.

2007

- Two former employees sue Stanford, alleging fraud.

- The SEC finds, during a routine exam, that Stanford's Houston-based broker-dealer operation is violating net capital requirements. The firm pays a $20,000 fine.

- Stanford Financial pays a $10,000 fine to FINRA in response to allegations that it gave out "misleading, unfair and unbalanced information" about its certificates of deposit.

2008

- Stanford Financial pays a $30,000 fine to FINRA in response to allegations that it didn't adequately disclose in its research reports its method for valuing certain securities, among other information.

- FBI opens an investigation into whether Stanford laundered drug money for Mexico's violent Gulf Cartel. Mexican authorities detained one of Stanford's private planes after officials found checks inside believed to be connected to the cartel. (The DEA also at some point probed Stanford for laundering drug money.)

- That inquiry into Stanford by the SEC's Fort Worth office is reopened, in the wake of widespread criticism of the agency for failing to catch Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme, and for de-emphasizing enforcement in recent years.

2009

- SEC files charges against Stanford, alleging "massive ongoing fraud."

As we reported last week, there's strong reason to believe that the SEC should have pushed harder on Stanford sooner. The long history of inquiries that failed to uncover Stanford's alleged $8 billion fraud only strengthens that notion.

Allen Stanford

Through Obscure Non-Profit, Stanford Wooed Lawmakers

Zachary Roth | February 20, 2009, 6:58PM

By now, we've all seen those pictures of Allen Stanford hobnobbing with lawmakers in Antigua. But, with the exception of one trip by Sen. John Cornyn, it wasn't Stanford himself who picked up the tab for these jaunts -- it was an obscure outfit called the Inter-American Economic Council.

And taking a closer look at the IAEC, and its ties to Stanford, sheds some light on how the Texas billionaire gained access to all those members of Congress -- and what he hoped to gain by doing so.

The IAEC's website says that the Washington-based group was founded in 1999 and that it aims to "provide senior Government Officials, leading Business Executives, and Academic Professionals the opportunity to engage in a dialogue about current and future economic strategies in the Hemisphere." And in 2003, the Associated Press reported (via Nexis) that, according to IAEC president Barry Featherman, the organization "relies mostly on contributions from U.S. corporations."

But the group appears to have remarkably close ties to Stanford himself. In this 2006 report, Bloomberg described Stanford as a "principal backer" of the organization. And Stanford Financial told Bloomberg that it had "donated the use of its aircraft" to the IAEC for one 2006 trip to Jamaica that four Democratic lawmakers went on.

That same year, the IAEC gave Stanford its "Excellence in Leadership" award. A press release put out by the group (since removed from its website) declared that Stanford "has strongly supported the work that the IAEC is doing in Latin America and the Caribbean."

Stanford also appears to have taken advantage of IAEC-funded events by showing up personally to schmooze lawmakers. We already posted these shots of current or former lawmakers including Katherine Harris, Pete Sessions, Tom Feeney, James Clyburn, and John Sweeney chilling with Stanford and Caribbean dignitaries in Antigua in 2005.

But there's also another set of interesting shots from the previous year, showing Stanford breaking bread with, and addressing, lawmakers -- including former GOP congressman Bob Ney (since jailed for taking bribes from Jack Abramoff) -- at an IAEC-sponsored event in Washington.

(You can see the slideshow of photographs from that event here.)

What was Stanford talking to lawmakers about? An IAEC press release from (via Nexis) from the event gives a hint. It says that in his speech, Stanford "addressed the need to streamline regulatory regimes that make it difficult for investors to take advantage of all of the opportunities that exist in the region."

And that same year, Newsday reported (via Nexis) on an IAEC-sponsored trip to Jamaica that included Democratic congressman Gregory Meeks. The IAEC, said the paper, hoped to "ease Patriot Act restrictions on offshore banking," and that according to Meeks, "the trip was an effort by the Inter-American Economic Council to explain the hardships the act has imposed on Caribbean banks."

In other words, Stanford and the IAEC used these events to try to convince lawmakers not to crack down on tax loopholes that work to benefit offshore banking -- exactly the loopholes that allowed Stanford to operate his alleged multi-billion-dollar scam, free from regulatory scrutiny, for so long .

In fact, the IAEC even seems to have used its clout to create a new congressional caucus -- the Caribbean Caucus -- made up of may of the lawmakers who went on the IAEC-backed trips.

After one such trip in 2003, attended by then-Rep. Phil Crane (R-IL), among others, Featherman, the IAEC president, revealed that "Congress is expected to form an informal, bipartisan Caribbean caucus to focus on issues of interest to the region," according to the AP (via Nexis).

The Caribbean Caucus would at various times include, among others, Ney, Meeks, Sweeney, Sessions, Feeney, Charlie Rangel, Mel Watt, Donald Payne, Phil English, Steve Chabot, Donna Christensen, Diane Watson, and Al Wynn, all of whom went to events on IAEC's dime.

Indeed, Stanford seems to have had some sway not only over the IAEC, but over the membership of the Caribbean Caucus itself. That Bloomberg story from 2006 reports that it was Stanford himself who asked Sessions to become a member of the caucus. Sessions seems to have agreed.

The IAEC is staying mum about its relationship to Stanford -- it hasn't returned either of TPMmuckraker's calls over the last few days. And the office of Rep. Payne, who was at one time listed as a co-chair, along with Ney, of the Caribbean Caucus, declined to make anyone available to answer TPMmuckraker's questions.

Allen Stanford

Five-Star Dining, Stanford Style!

Zachary Roth | February 20, 2009, 2:26PM

"It's not often that an owner sets an unlimited budget for creating a tabletop. The Pavilion in Antigua is that rare situation."

That's from a 2004 "Tabletop Performance Special Mention" -- which seems to be some kind award for setting the table. And we're betting you can guess who that free-spending owner is.

The write-up, posted on the site AllBusiness.com, continues:

This restaurant's owner, R. Allen Stanford, created this extremely luxurious, 5-star dining establishment in 2003. It not only serves local residents and guests but also Stanford's high-net-worth clients who fly into Antigua to visit the Stanford International Bank with interest in investing in one of his operations on this island located in the eastern Caribbean.

...

Located at the entrance to V.C. Bird International Airport and overlooking the Stanford Cricket Grounds, The Pavilion was designed in the style of the great Caribbean plantation homes of the 18th century. To showcase their wealth, taste and sophistication, European settlers built these grand residences, called "Great Houses."

It gives a shout-out to Stanford's one-time girlfriend, Andrea Stoelker, who was then managing the restaurant -- and whose brother owns the house in Fredericksburg, Virginia where Stanford has been staying in recent days:

Also instrumental in the design process was The Pavilion's manager, Andrea Stoelker, who charged Nodler and Bailey to "design a tabletop fit for a king." Literally, no expense was spared to accomplish this goal. With the owner's blessing to spend $160 per sterling-silver goblet, $32.50 per crystal stem, $65 per glass bread & butter plate and $10 per pure linen napkin, a spectacular table was set.

Literally!

In case you wanted more details about the table:

The chinaware is primarily Bernaudaud's sculptured undecorated Provence pattern, with the bread & butter plates and the tea cups customized for this installation. The glass service plates are a retail item that the interior designers located and specified and are used in the wine cellar with its reclaimed oak beam-and-timber ceiling, handmade used American bricks and antique French limestone floor, which also houses its 10,000-bottle collection of vintage wine. The glass B&B plates from Annieglass, used as accent pieces, are again retail items made from recycled windowpanes. The crystal stemware is from Riedel's Sommelier collection and is complemented by Christofle Hotel's heavy French silver-plated flatware in its Beau Harnais pattern. Of course the selection process was geared to serve the French creole cuisine of Executive Chef Andrew Knoll.

Of course.

And to top it off:

While the customer felt that Riedel's wine glassware was perfect, they wanted a totally unique water glass. The result was the location and purchase of custom sterling-silver goblets, which, according to Bailey, were handmade for the client in Istanbul, Turkey, each arriving in its own gift sack.

Allen Stanford

Stanford: How I Avoided Sub-Prime Debacle

Zachary Roth | February 20, 2009, 12:17PM

You've probably seen or read about the interview from last year in which Allen Stanford tells a sycophantic CNBC talking head that "it is fun being a billionaire".

But that same interview also features Stanford boasting -- with the interviewer's eager prompting -- about how, unlike so many other banks, his company was smart enough to "avoid the sub-prime debacle" because it couldn't assess the risk.

Said Stanford:

When you start packaging something with a lot of assets that are all mixed up, and you can't get your arms around what the real asset is, therefore what the risk is, we decided that whatever perceived there might be, we decided not to take that risk, because we didn't know what the risk really was and the perceived profits really became irrelevant.

If only all our bankers had showed the foresight and restraint of Sir Allen!

Check it out...

Allen Stanford

Sessions-Stanford: The Pics Keep Coming

Zachary Roth | February 20, 2009, 11:43AM

Just in case you were still wondering whether Pete Sessions and Allen Stanford know each other, here's another picture of them on that same Antiguan trip, this one posted on the website of the Antiguan government:

Sessions's press secretary told Bloomberg that the congressman did not know Stanford personally.

Allen Stanford

Stanford Pitched Sessions On Protecting Off-Shore Loopholes

Zachary Roth | February 20, 2009, 11:16AM

Earlier this morning, we caught the office of GOP congressman Pete Sessions falsely telling a reporter that Sessions didn't know Allen Stanford personally. (Check out this pic for the evidence he did.)

And here's another interesting example of Sessions and Stanford crossing paths.

A 2004 press release (via Nexis), put out by the Stanford-linked Inter-American Economic Council, touts a meeting the IAEC organized with Caribbean officials and members of Congress, including Sessions.

It declares:

Mr. Allen Stanford spoke about the need for additional assistance to the nations devastated by the hurricanes. He also addressed the need to streamline regulatory regimes that make it difficult for investors to take advantage of all of the opportunities that exist in the region.

In other words, Sessions was at a meeting at at which Stanford pressed lawmakers to leave open the loopholes that benefit off-shore corporations.

A few months later, Sessions and colleagues would fly to Antigua on the IAEC's dime to talk further about the issue.

It's also worth noting that Sessions and Texas GOP senator John Cornyn, unlike a slew of other lawmakers, have declined to return Stanford's money.

Allen Stanford

Pete Sessions' Office Falsely Claims He Didn't Know Stanford

Zachary Roth | February 20, 2009, 10:13AM

Here's a fun one...

With lawmakers scrambling to distance themselves from Allen Stanford, Bloomberg reports:

Representative Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican, got $41,375 [from Stanford's firm]. Spokeswoman Emily Davis said Sessions didn't know Stanford personally.

But check out this picture we posted the other day. It's from that 2005 junket that a group of lawmakers took to Antigua (paid for by the Stanford-linked Inter-American Economic Council) and it shows Sessions, now the NRCC chair, happily chatting with the cricket-loving billionaire.

And in 2006, Sessions' chief of staff told Bloomberg that the two men did know each other -- indeed, that Stanford asked Sessions to become a member of the Caribbean Caucus.

We're guessing that Davis' claim won't remain operative too long. We've contacted her and will let you know what we hear.

Thanks to reader T.D. for the tip.

Late Update: Davis responded via email: "No comment."

Allen Stanford

SEC Vet: Agency Should Have Looked Closer At Stanford

Zachary Roth | February 19, 2009, 4:50PM

Did the SEC fall down on the job by not paying closer attention to Allen Stanford, the billionaire Texas banker accused of orchestrating an $8 billion fraud? One former long-time enforcement director for the agency thinks it may well have.

Robert Fusfeld, who spent 31 years as an SEC enforcement lawyer, and for 15 managed the trial unit in the commission's Denver office before retiring in 2006, told TPMmuckraker that there was plenty of reason for the SEC to aggressively scrutinize Stanford's operation.

"A registered broker dealer and registered investment adviser is selling offshore Caribbean CDs in mammoth volumes, and nobody's looking at the bonafides of the bank," he said.

The New York Times reported today that the Stanford Group paid several fines over the last few years after regulators found that it did not have enough capital to meet the requirements of being a broker-dealer and used misleading sales literature. "There were numerous very significant red flags that included a history of violations," said Fusfeld.

The case, he said, contained the "same kind of red flags as Madoff" -- like consistently high returns -- but with the added red flag of the Antiguan CDs. "It's not Germany, France, or England," he continued, noting the history of "flagrant offshore CD frauds" over the last 10-15 years.

Because Stanford was a registered broker dealer and investment adviser, the SEC had full access to its operation, Fusfeld added. "They can walk right in."

The SEC was publicly flogged earlier this month for its failure to catch Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Since then, its appears to have been making a special effort to show it's capable of acting aggressively -- a concern which may have affected the timing of the Stanford complaint filed Tuesday.

It would certainly be ironic if, in this case too, it was found to have fallen down on the job.

Allen Stanford

Stanford Found In U.S.

Zachary Roth | February 19, 2009, 4:35PM

Reuters is reporting that Allen Stanford has been found in Virginia and served by the FBI with court papers.

MSNBC just confirmed that report moments ago.

Stanford has been accused by the SEC of orchestrating an $8 billion fraud, but still has not been criminally charged.

Late Update: ABC News has more Stanford details:

- According to one of his lobbyists, Ben Barnes, Stanford has turned in his passport and said he won't flee. He's described as "very depressed" and sought to end the manhunt by approaching DOJ officials himself.

- In addition:

In the meantime, the SEC has begun to seize an array of private property owned by Stanford and his firm.

Stanford's fleet of six private jets were recalled to the corporate hangar at Sugarland Airport outside Houston, including the Bombardier 500 luxury jet that was used exclusively by Stanford.

According to flight records, the Stanford jet flew into Washington, D.C. earlier this week and returned to Houston yesterday afternoon. Flight crews said Stanford was not seen on the plane when it unloaded.

- And Stanford has hired top DC criminal defense lawyer Brendan Sullivan, of Williams and Connolly. Sullivan represented Oliver North and Ted Stevens.

Separately, AP adds that Stanford was served with court papers in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Allen Stanford

The Daily Stanford

Zachary Roth | February 19, 2009, 11:02AM

The developments in the Allen Stanford case are coming thick and fast. Let's get up to speed:

- ABC News reported that the FBI has been investigating whether Stanford laundered money for a Mexican drug cartel.

- Bloomberg reported that the FBI is separately investigating Stanford's fraud and seems likely to bring criminal charges. (To date, Stanford has not been criminally charged.)

- The New York Times reported that both the SEC and FINRA had investigated Stanford in recent years, and merely issued a few fines, despite the existence of "major red flags" in the words of one expert. (More on that to come.)

- Some members of Congress said they'd return donations from Stanford. But others, like GOPers John Cornyn and Pete Sessions said they'd keep the loot!

- The government of Venezuela took over a local Stanford bank.

- Latin Americans and Caribbeans scrambled to get their money out of Stanford banks.

- Former Swiss President Adolf Ogi said he would resign from the board of Stanford Financial Group.

- And maybe most worryingly, the SEC has admitted it doesn't know where Stanford is.

Allen Stanford

Lawmakers' Caribbean Junket With Allen Stanford: The Pictures That Reveal All

Zachary Roth | February 18, 2009, 2:45PM

We've put together a slideshow of that 2005 junket that a group of lawmakers -- including Katherine Harris, Tom Feeney, John Sweeney, James Clyburn, and Pete Sessions, went on to Antigua, paid for by an organization with close ties to Stanford.

Our favorite is the one of Harris and Sir Allen gazing into each other's eyes.

Check it out...

Allen Stanford

Six Degrees Of Allen Stanford

Zachary Roth | February 18, 2009, 2:24PM

Here at TPMmuckraker, the more we think about the Allen Stanford saga, the more it seems like a kind of harmonic convergence of recent high-profile muck.

The emerging story's range of ties -- some incidental, some more substantive -- to some other high-profile scandals of the past few years, from Bermard Madoff to Jack Abramoff to Rod Blagojevich -- is pretty striking.

First, Madoff.

It's not just that questions about the pace of the SEC's Stanford investigation -- including whether the agency's decision to bring charges yesterday was prompted in part by recent news reports -- have to be considered in light of the SEC's well-documented missteps on the Madoff case.

It's also that, according to the SEC complaint, Stanford's investors were exposed to losses via Madoff -- but falsely assured them they weren't.

From the complaint:

In a December 2008 Monthly Report, the bank told investors that their money was safe because SID "had no direct or indirect exposure to any of [Bernard] Madoffs investments."

But, contrary to this statement, at least $400,000 in Tier 2 was invested in Meridian, a New York-based hedge fund that used Tremont Partners as its asset manager. Tremont invested approximately 6-8% of the SIB assets they indirectly managed with Madoffs investment firm.

Pendergest, Davis and Stanford knew about this exposure to loss relating to the Meridian investment. On December 15, 2008, an Analyst informed Pendergast, Davis and Stanford in a weekly report that his "rough estimate is a loss of $400k ... based on the indirect exposure" to Madoff'.

As for Abramoff, we reported yesterday that a bevvy lawmakers with ties to the crooked lobbyist or a history of other ethical problems - including then-GOP members of Congress Bob Ney, Katherine Harris, Tom Feeney, and John Sweeney, as well as current Rep. Charlie Rangel -- went on a 2005 junket to Antigua that was funded by an organization with close links to Stanford.

Indeed, until yesterday, that organization, the Inter-American Economic Council, had photographs from the trip -- showing Harris, Feeney, and pals hobnobbing in splendor with Antiguan dignitaries -- posted on its website. It's since removed them, but not before we saved them. You can see the slideshow here.

And there's also another congressional angle which, though not on a par with the Abramoff sleaze, nonetheless appears to reflect the cynical money-for-access culture that has characterized Washington politics in recent years:

In 2002, as we reported yesterday, after lobbying from Stanford's firm, the Democratic-controlled Senate killed a bill designed to bolster efforts to catch financial fraud. During that cycle, Stanford's company had given an eye-popping $800,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. And according to campaign finance records examined by TPMmuckraker, it had also given generously to key Democrats on the Senate Banking committee: $8000 to Chuck Schumer, $6000 to Chris Dodd, and $1000 to then-chair Paul Sarbanes.

So there's that.

What about Blago?

Well, it turns out that, according to lobby disclosure reports examined by TPMmuckraker, one of Stanford's paid lobbyists in 2002 -- the year that the firm was lobbying on the anti-financial-fraud bill -- was John Wyma. One form lists Wyma and his team's work as "Helping them address legislature (sic) which involves financial services companies."

In case you'd forgotten, Wyma used to be one of Blagojevich's closest aides, before cooperating with Pat Fitzgerald's investigation by secretly recording conversations with the then governor.

The two were apparently think as thieves at one time. The Chicago Tribune reported at the time of Blago's arrest:

The governor routinely reported exchanging personal gifts and often appeared at Wyma-sponsored fundraisers where Wyma's clients hobnobbed with the governor before turning over checks for his campaign fund.

Now all we need is a link to the U.S. Attorney firings, and we'll be all set.

Allen Stanford

Report: Stanford Tried To Get On Flight To Antigua

Zachary Roth | February 18, 2009, 11:26AM

CNBC reports that, according to a source, Allen Stanford, who was charged yesterday with perpetrating an $8 billion fraud, tried unsuccessfully to get a one-way flight out of the U.S. to Antigua.

Says the business channel:

R. Allen Stanford tried to arrange the direct flight to Antigua, here his offshore banking operations are based. He contacted a private jet owner and attempted to pay for the flight with a credit card, but was refused because the company would only accept a wire transfer, a source in the private jet industry said.

The suggestion that Stanford may still be on U.S. soil could be encouraging for those hoping to see the flamboyant cricket-loving billionaire brought to justice. There has been speculation in the last 24 hours that he may already have scarpered to Latin America or elsewhere.

Allen Stanford

After Lobbying From Stanford, Senate Killed Bill To Combat Financial Fraud

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2009, 5:08PM

A great catch on Stanford by Lindsay Renick Mayer of the Center for Responsive Politics.

To summarize: The cycle during which the Stanford Financial Group gave the most in political contributions was 2001-2002. That may have been because, at that time, Congress was debating the Financial Services Antifraud Network Act, which, according to CRP, would have "created a computer network linking the databases of state and federal banking, securities and insurance regulators to curb financial fraud."

That bill ended up passing the House, but not the Senate. And according to lobbying reports, says Renick Mayer, Stanford Financial Group lobbied on the bill. (It's not hard to guess their position.)

During that same cycle, Renick Mayer continues, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee took in more than $800,000 from the firm. At the time, the DSCC was chaired by Florida Democratic senator Bill Nelson. And Nelson is the current member of Congress who has received more campaign cash from Stanford and its employees than any other, raking in $45,900.

Leaving Nelson aside, could that 2002 bill to combat financial fraud, which died in the Senate after lobbying from Stanford, have helped authorities uncover the firm's alleged fraud much sooner? Seems worth asking...

Allen Stanford

Stanford-Tied Group Funded Numerous Antiguan Trips For Lawmakers

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2009, 4:12PM

The number of lawmakers who may have taken trips to Antigua and Barbuda backed by alleged billion-dollar fraudster Allen Stanford just keeps getting bigger.

According to congressional travel disclosure reports posted on the Legistorm website, between 2003 and 2005 several members of Congress or their aides took trips to the island nation that were financed by the Inter-American Economic Council.

Among the lawmakers current or former: Bob Ney (R-OH), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Max Sandlin (D-TX), Donald Payne (D-NJ), John Sweeney (R-NY), Phil Crane (R-IL), and Gregory Meeks (D-NY).

Aides to Ney, Sessions, Sandlin, and Tom DeLay (R-TX) also soaked up the Antiguan sun.

Stanford is closely tied to the IAEC. In 2006, he received the organization's "Excellence in Leadership" Award. A press release put out by the group declared that Stanford "has strongly supported the work that the IAEC is doing in Latin America and the Caribbean."

There's no firm evidence that Stanford paid for all these lawmakers' trips. But he certainly seems to have been a major financial backer and ally of the outfit that did.

We've called the IAEC to ask about its ties to Stanford and will let you know what we find out.

Bob Ney

"Caribbean Caucus" Lawmakers Took Trips On Stanford Jets

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2009, 3:03PM

Last May, buried in a long Bloomberg report about Stanford's tussles with Stanford University over his claim to be descended from the school's founder, was this nugget:

Members of the House Caribbean Caucus take annual trips to the region on Stanford's jets. Lawmakers are required to reimburse companies at a first-class commercial rate, which is often a fraction of the actual cost.

The House Caribbean Caucus? We don't mind telling you, we weren't even aware of its existence.

But according to this announcement from the Inter-American Economic Council, which appears to be from circa 2005, it has some pretty interesting co-chairs:

Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caribbean Caucus Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ), Congressman Robert Ney (R-OH), Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX), Congressman Tom Feeney (R-FL), Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Congressman John Sweeney (R-NY), Congressman Mel Watt (D-NC), Congressman Phil English (R-PA), Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH) Congresswomen Donna Christensen (D-VI), and Congresswoman Diane Watson (D-CA).

That's something of a rogue's gallery...

Ney, of course, did jail time after pleading guilty to lying about his involvement in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

Feeney also was implicated in the Abramoff scandal, and was named one of the "20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress" in a report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Sweeney also made CREW's list, and went on an Abramoff-funded junket to the Northern Mariana islands with Tony Rudy.

Rangel is currently being investigated by the House ethics committee in connection with, among other issues, unpaid taxes on income from a Caribbean vacation home.

This story just gets more and more interesting...

Allen Stanford

Cornyn Took Caribbean Junket On Stanford's Dime

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2009, 2:20PM

So we already knew that Allen Stanford -- the Texas banker charged by the SEC today with running an $8 billion "fraud of shocking magnitude" -- had some pretty impressive political contacts with both parties.

But it looks like his relationship with one of his home-state senators, Republican John Cornyn, may have been especially cozy.

According to Cornyn's Senate disclosure reports -- posted on the site Legistorm.com, which tracks privately financed trips by members of Congress -- the Stanford Financial Group paid for the Texas senator and an unnamed companion to take a November 2004 trip down to Antigua and Barbuda, the tiny Carribean nation where the company has its headquarters.

The three day trip is described by Legistorm as a "financial services industry fact-finding mission hosted by constituent company with substantial operations on site."

The site adds:

Sen. Cornyn discloses expenses for himself and a companion, but does not disclose the identity of the companion.

The total cost of the trip: $7,441.00

It would be hard to blame Cornyn if financial regulation wasn't the only thing on his mind while he was in Antigua. The trip occurred right after the November 2004 election, during which Cornyn was working hard for George W. Bush. And just last Sunday, the New York Times travel section described Antigua as a group of "famously paradisiacal islands that actually lives up to the hype."

The paper continued:

An array of über-luxurious resorts have cashed in on the lush surroundings, and provide their well-heeled guests with so many hedonistic diversions that many never emerge to see what lies beyond the resort gates.

Sounds like just the spot for some fact-finding!

We've told you all about Stanford's generous record of contributions to lawmakers from both sides of the aisle -- and especially to those with authority over the banking sector. The New York Times has gone further, reporting that Stanford's contributions appear to focus "particularly on legislators considering bills that would change offshore banking rules."

Cornyn this year became a member of the Senate Finance committee, though in 2004 he was not a member.

We've put in a call to Cornyn's office to ask what he learned on the "fact-finding mission" Stanford paid for -- and who his mystery companion was -- and will update with anything we learn.

Thanks to reader B.K. for the tip.

Late Update: It looks like Cornyn's spokesman was asked by the Center for Public Integrity back in 2006 about the identity of Cornyn's companion, and responded that it was Cornyn's wife.

Interestingly, CPI said the trip was "to tour the offices of trip sponsor Stanford Financial Group."

Thanks to commenter Snig for pointing that out.

Allen Stanford

Judge Freezes Stanford Assets

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2009, 1:08PM

The Houston Chronicle reports:

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor issued an order freezing the defendants' assets and appointed a receiver to marshal them.

And Reuters, in full blog mode, adds:

STANFORD FINANCIAL GROUP SIGN IN HOUSTON SAYS NOW "UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF A RECEIVER" - REUTERS EYEWITNESS.

Allen Stanford

Stanford Charged With "Fraud Of Shocking Magnitude"

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2009, 12:32PM

Allen Stanford, the billionaire Texas banker, has been charged with orchestrating a fraudulent, multibillion dollar investment scheme, the SEC announced in a press release this morning.

An SEC spokeswoman called it "a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world."

There's also more detail on Stanford's alleged scheme, which seems to have involved selling certificates of deposit worth $8 billion based on fraudulent returns.

From the release:

The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in Dallas, alleges that acting through a network of SGC financial advisers, SIB has sold approximately $8 billion of so-called "certificates of deposit" to investors by promising improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates. These rates were supposedly earned through SIB's unique investment strategy, which purportedly allowed the bank to achieve double-digit returns on its investments for the past 15 years.

According to the SEC's complaint, the defendants have misrepresented to CD purchasers that their deposits are safe, falsely claiming that the bank re-invests client funds primarily in "liquid" financial instruments (the portfolio); monitors the portfolio through a team of 20-plus analysts; and is subject to yearly audits by Antiguan regulators.

There's also a possible connection to the Bernard Madoff case. The release continues:

Recently, as the market absorbed the news of Bernard Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme, SIB attempted to calm its own investors by falsely claiming the bank has no "direct or indirect" exposure to the Madoff scheme.

The release does not give details as to the nature of that exposure.

But there are other details reminiscent of Madoff:

Others charged along with Stanford are James Davis, the chief financial officer for Stanford International Bank (the wing of Stanford's financial empire implicated in the alleged fraud) and Laura Pendergest-Holt, chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group.

According to the release, Pendergest-Holt had no financial services or securities industry experience before joining Stanford. And Davis was Stanford's college roommate.

In the same vein, the agency notes that the investment committee for Stanford International Bank "is comprised of Stanford; Stanford's father who resides in Mexia, Texas; another Mexia resident with business experience in cattle ranching and car sales." That committee is charged with managing the bank's multi-billion dollar portfolio of assets.

And according to the New York Times' examination of the complaint itself, the SEC acted after it subpoenaed Stanford and Davis for testimony and documents that would help account for $8 billion in assets, and received no response.

As for Pendergast-Holt, the chief financial officer, she claimed that only Stanford and Davs had access to the bank's assets.

Separately, Reuters just reported that about 15 people, some wearing jackets identifying them as U.S. marshals, were seen entering Stanford's Houston office this morning.

Allen Stanford

Report: US Agents Enter Stanford's Houston Office

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2009, 12:01PM

Reuters reports:

Federal agents with the U.S. Marshals Service entered the Houston office of Stanford Financial Group Tuesday, according to a Reuters eyewitness on the scene.

Allen Stanford

Is Allen Stanford The 21st Century's Jay Gatsby?

Zachary Roth | February 16, 2009, 4:25PM

It looks like Allen Stanford, the billionaire Texan banker whose investment firm is being probed by the Feds, has a positively Gatsbyesque yearning to be accepted into high society.

As we knew, Stanford calls himself "Sir" Allen Stanford, on account of a knighthood he was awarded by the former prime minister of Antigua, where his business is based. But it looks like maybe that wasn't quite good enough for Stanford, since until recently he was claiming, falsely, that the knighthood was presented by the British Royal family.

Check out this report (via Nexis), from last November in the Mail on Sunday of London:

Texan-born billionaire Sir Allen Stanford's corporate website claims that, after he became a citizen of the Commonwealth territory of Antigua, it appointed him a 'Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation'.

'He was presented [with] this honour by His Royal Highness Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex,' states the website.

However, The Mail on Sunday has learned that the Prince had nothing to do with the honour and that it was not approved by the Queen.

...

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said it was a coincidence that the knighthood ceremony, conducted by an Antiguan political appointee, took place during a celebration of the island's independence, at which Prince Edward was a guest.

'It is incorrect to say that the Earl of Wessex knighted this person while in Antigua,' said the spokesman.

Stanford's personal web site now says only that the Earl of Wessex attended the ceremony at which the "royal knighthood" was bestowed. (Though the "royal" part still seem dubious, since Buckingham Palace has disavowed any role in the proceeding.)

The whole tale is reminiscent of Stanford's claim to be descended from the founder of Stanford University. The school has denied the link.

Indeed, even the awarding of Stanford's title by the Antiguan government appears to have been pretty irregular. The paper explains:

His knighthood was bestowed in 2006 under an Antiguan law that allows its politicians to draw up an annual honours list.

But the decision to honour Stanford has caused an outcry on the island, where his ownership of a £1billion financial and property empire has made him a divisive figure. Critics deride the award as a 'mockery' and have gone to court to challenge the legislation.

Antigua's National Honours Act authorises the granting of titles to distinguished citizens, who are screened by a bipartisan committee.

But Stanford was knighted under a 2000 amendment to the act, which permits the island's most powerful politicians to allow their candidates to bypass the vetting procedure.

Phillip Abbott, a businessman who is descended from the island's first settlers, has contested in the Antiguan High Court that the amendment is invalid. 'The spectacle of Allen Stanford being knighted got up my nose,' he said. 'This amendment permits politicians to nominate anyone for a title without going through the vetting required by law.'

As we said, Gatsbyesque.

New details have also emerged about Stanford's business, and what might have tipped off regulators that something fishy was going on.

Reuters reports:

According to US regulatory filings, Stanford owns more than 10 percent stakes in three companies trading below $2 per share on the Bulletin Board or Pink Sheets: eLandia International Inc, a Coral Gables, Florida technology company.

Forefront Holdings Inc, a Brentwood, Tennessee provider of golf supplies; and Health Systems Solutions Inc, a New York technology and services company. "These were not exactly blue chip companies," said Bob Parrish, an accountant in Longboat Key, Florida, whose clients pulled roughly $500,000 out of Stanford last year.

The high rates for certificates of deposit, long considered safe short-term investments, seem to have caught the attention of U.S. regulators who began probing the company in mid-2008.

The wire service adds that the Texas Attorney General's office, and the Florida Office of Financial Regulations are also probing the company.

Allen Stanford

Cricketers' Wives And Failed Health Clubs: The Allen Stanford Story

Zachary Roth | February 13, 2009, 6:31PM

We told you earlier today about "Sir" Allen Stanford, the Texas billionaire (he got himself knighted in Antigua) who runs a private investment firm that's being probed by the Feds after consistently issuing deposits that pay interest rates at twice the national average.

Although we linked this morning to today's New York Times report, the news that Stanford was being investigated by the federal government was originally broken by Business Week in this excellent rundown from Wednesday.

The magazine includes a great detail on Stanford's comically desperate effort to claim that he's descended from Leland Stanford, who founded Stanford University. It reports that despite those claims -- here, for instance ....

[S]chool officials say there is no familial link to the financier. In October the university sued Stanford Financial in federal court in San Francisco, claiming it had infringed on the school's trademark by using "confusingly similar imitations" of its logo at sporting events and other activities sponsored by Stanford Financial. Denying any wrongdoing, the firm filed a motion to dismiss the case in early February.

And we told you before about Stanford's impressive record of political contributions to lawmakers of both parties. But he's not just a big-time donor -- Stanford appears to be pretty well-connected, with both major parties.

In 2007, the Inter-American Economic Council (IAEC) gave Stanford its "Excellence in Leadership" Award -- at an event co-chaired by President and Laura Bush.

And according to this 2008 report from a St. Croix newspaper, when Stanford held a party to celebrate the opening of his firm's new "global management complex" on the island, President Bush sent a note, reading: "I send greetings to those gathered in St. Croix, Virgin Islands to celebrate the expansion of Stanford Financial Group." Keeping things bipartisan, Nancy Pelosi sent her own good wishes.

And check out this video, which the Stanford Financial Group made to tout its sponsorship of an event, held at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, for the National Democratic Institute, a non-profit group associated with the Democratic Party that works to spread democracy abroad. Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Howard Dean, and Pelosi all spoke at the event. Clinton personally thanked Stanford Financial.

Here's another funny detail. We told you before about Stanford's love of cricket. But last year, he sponsored a series between England and the West Indies that, according to the BBC, one English cricket official described as "a pantomime" and "obscene." The England players complained about the state of the pitch, the lighting, and the crassness of playing for money while representing their country.

As for Stanford himself, it looks like it's more than just the silly-mid-offs and leg-before-wickets that he gets out of the game. Business Week reports that during that ill-fated series:

Stanford sparked a scandal in England after a photographer snapped a shot of him with the wives of several professional British cricket players sitting on his lap. A father of six, who is separated from his wife, Stanford later issued an apology over the incident.

Oh, I say!

It hasn't always been notes from the president and cricketers' wives in his lap, though. Today, Business Week adds some information about one of Stanford's early, considerably less successful ventures: a Waco, Texas, health club called Total Fitness of Temple Inc.

Court documents reveal that in 1983, Allen Stanford was slapped with a default judgment for failing to pay back rent on the lease for the health club. The judge in the case signed an order permitting the landlord, Allied Development Co., to collect some $31,800 in unpaid rent plus interest from the man who reportedly now has $2.2 billion in wealth.

You've come a long way, baby!

Allen Stanford

Meet Texas Billionaire (And Mini-Madoff?) "Sir" Allen Stanford

Zachary Roth | February 13, 2009, 11:49AM

We may have found our favorite mini- (or maybe not so mini-!) Madoff yet...

The FBI, SEC, and IRS are all looking into the business activities of the Stanford Financial Group, a Houston-based private investment group run by the "flamboyant Texas billionaire" Allen Stanford, reports the New York Times.

Like Madoff, Stanford's returns may have been too good to be true. A bank he owns, based in Antigua, has been issuing certificates of deposit that pay interest rates at more than twice the national average, says the paper.

Last summer, two former employees alleged in a lawsuit that the firm misled potential investors by overstating the asset value of individuals; failed to file mandatory forms disclosing its clients' offshore accounts; and removed information from its computers in response to an S.E.C. investigation.

The size of the alleged scam is unclear, but a spokesman for Stanford Financial told the Times that it "holds about $8 billion in deposits at its bank and has about $50 billion in assets in its wealth management affiliate."

The firm has denied the allegations.

But what really piqued our interest here was Allen Stanford himself. Here's some of the color the Times offers on the guy:

[A] decade ago, Mr. Stanford told The Associated Press that he had flown a Roman Catholic priest displaying signs of "stigmata," or bleeding wounds on his wrists and ankles, from the tiny Caribbean island of Antigua to New York City on his jet.

And:

Mr. Stanford, who his firm said was unavailable for comment, ranked 205th last year on the Forbes annual list of the richest people in the United States, with an estimated net worth of $2.2 billion. On Antigua, he is akin to royalty, being knighted by the former prime minister, referring to himself as "Sir Allen Stanford" on the company's Web site.

And maybe most interestingly:

Mr. Stanford has claimed ties to Leland Stanford, the former governor of California who started Stanford University in the 1800s. The university, however, has said there is no genealogical relationship between the two.

Indeed, on that one, Stanford put his money where his mouth is. In 2001, he gave $2.5 million to help rehabilitate the Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park in downtown Sacramento. A press release sent out by the office of then-California governor Gray Davis noted: "Stanford traces his family heritage to the family of Leland Stanford."

The Times also notes that Stanford and his firm have "emerged in recent years as major contributors to various lawmakers, appearing to focus particularly on legislators considering bills that would change offshore banking rules."

So we took a quick look at online campaign finance records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics -- and it's fair to say the paper wasn't exaggerating.

Over the last decade or so, Stanford or the Stanford Financial Group have given $128,500 to the RNC, $238,500 to the NRCC, over $80,000 to the NRSC, and $180,000 to the DCCC. They have also given smaller amounts to current or former members of Congress with leadership positions, or positions with oversight over the banking and financial systems. That lists includes Tom DeLay, Phil Gramm, Chuck Schumer, Richard Shelby, Charlie Rangel, Max Baucus, Bob Torricelli, and Paul Sarbanes.

We're guessing this won't be the last post we do on Allen Stanford.

Late Update: It looks like, despite being from Texas, Stanford is a cricket fan. Check out this story from the cricket website cricinfo.com, reporting that today's match between England and the West Indies in Antigua has been suspended because of a waterlogged pitch. Discussing alternative locations, the site adds:

Another option, as yet unvoiced, would be to shift the match to Sir Allen Stanford's private ground near the airport, the venue of the 20/20 for 20 in November.

He is a knight, after all.

Thanks to reader M.G. for the tip.