Allen Stanford

Fallen Financier Allen Stanford Convicted In $7 Billion Ponzi Scheme

Nick R. Martin | March 6, 2012, 1:19PM

Update: March 6, 2012, 2:46 PM

The spectacular fall of former Houston billionaire Allen Stanford reached its long sought conclusion on Tuesday as a federal jury found him guilty of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme.

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Allen Stanford

Allen Stanford's Defense Team Says It Got Stiffed Out Of $1.9 Million

Nick R. Martin | February 27, 2012, 6:04AM

Disgraced financier Allen Stanford's alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme is said to have ruined the livelihoods of thousands of victims. Now it could result in a seven-figure loss for one more party: his own defense team.

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Allen Stanford

Prosecutors: Allen Stanford Is Faking Amnesia To Avoid Trial

Jillian Rayfield | December 19, 2011, 10:00AM

Prosecutors say alleged Ponzi-schemer Allen Stanford is faking amnesia to avoid standing trial, according to a medical report.

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Mitt Romney

Report: Romney Investment Firm Partnered With Execs From Firm Accused Of Ponzi Scheme

Jillian Rayfield | November 1, 2011, 6:04PM

Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney, his son and his chief fundraiser have extensive ties to three men from a firm accused of running an $8.5 billion Ponzi scheme, according to a report by ThinkProgress.

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Allen Stanford

Allen Stanford Tries To Send Bank On Document Fishing Expedition

Zoe Schlanger | July 28, 2011, 4:55PM

Allen Stanford

Texas billionare Allen Stanford, on trial for allegedly orchestrating an $8 billion international ponzi scheme, has sent a Louisiana bank on an "impermissible fishing expedition"—and the bank is refusing.

According to court filings, Stanford faxed Whitney Bank a subpoena two weeks ago, summoning them to testify at his criminal trial, and bring with them an "overbroad" list of documents.

The fax reads:

"To bring: Any and all bank records, account records, documents, papers, memorandum, electronic or otherwise, including but not limited to, checking accounts or any other bank relationships related to Robert Allen Stanford or any of the Stanford entities from the inception of your relationship until the present or end of your professional relationship."

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Timothy Durham

Feds Say Big GOP Donor Lampooned Elderly Investors In $200M Ponzi Scheme

Ryan J. Reilly | March 17, 2011, 2:00PM

Timothy Durham

Timothy Durham, the chief executive officer of National Lampoon, Inc., who donated major money to Republican candidates, was arrested by the FBI Wednesday for allegedly running a $200 million Ponzi scheme.

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Allen Stanford

Allen Stanford's Lawyers Say Alleged Ponzi Schemer Needs Luxury Rehab

Ryan J. Reilly | January 19, 2011, 1:05PM

Mark Stanford

Lawyers for Allen Stanford say the billionaire allegedly Ponzi schemer is addicted to an anti-anxiety medication and needs to be released from prison and sent to an upscale rehabilitation facility in Houston, Texas.

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Allen Stanford

After Complaining Of Delay, Allen Stanford Wants Two Year Hold On Trial

Ryan J. Reilly | January 5, 2011, 12:00PM

Allen Stanford

Allen Stanford, the man accused of stealing $7 billion from investors in a Ponzi scheme, wants a two year delay in his trial. But the Justice Department argued this week that's all his lawyers are trying to do with their request is to get him released from prison in the interim.

The feds said in a court filing that the two year postponement is excessive and that defense lawyers had already filed motions "covering most conceivable legal issues."

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Hassan Nemazee

In Plea Deal, Ex-Clinton Fundraiser Nemazee Gets 12 Years

Rachel Slajda | July 15, 2010, 1:45PM

Hassan Nemazee

Hassan Nemazee, a former fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, was sentenced today to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty in March to bilking banks out of $292 million.

Nemazee pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud. Prosecutors said Nemazee operated a type of Ponzi scheme in which he borrowed large amounts from three banks using fake collateral, and then paid off the debt with more loans.

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Scott Rothstein

Scott Rothstein Sentenced To 50 Years In Prison For Ponzi Scheme

Eric Lach | June 9, 2010, 4:41PM

Scott Rothstein

Scott Rothstein, the ex-lawyer charged with operating a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme in Florida, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison, the Associated Press reports.

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Allen Stanford

Stanford 'A Wreck Of A Man' As Defense Team Turns To Dershowitz

Zachary Roth | May 19, 2010, 11:34AM

Alan Dershowitz and Allen Stanford

Allen Stanford has been reduced to "a wreck of a man" and fears he is "losing his mind" as he awaits trial in a Texas prison, according to his attorneys. They've brought in celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz to argue that the conditions in which Stanford is being held are hindering his ability to prepare a defense, and to request his immediate release.

The former high-living billionaire is in a bad way, according to a motion filed yesterday by his team -- "malnourished and underweight," "slow in his gait ... and in his speech and thoughts," quickly losing his memory, frequently falling into "mental black holes," and largely unable to use his right eye to read, thanks to the effects of a brutal physical assault.

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Securities and Exchange Commission

Report Finds Catastrophic Failure By SEC In Stanford Ponzi Case

Justin Elliott | April 19, 2010, 10:19AM

Allen Stanford

In news buried by the Goldman fraud charges, the Inspector General for the SEC issued a blistering 159-page report Friday concluding that the agency's Fort Worth office knew that Texas businessman Allen Stanford was operating a Ponzi scheme in 1997 -- but didn't make a serious effort to pursue the matter for eight years, until 2005.

Stanford, a flamboyant Texas billionaire, is currently in jail facing charges of operating a $7 billion Ponzi scheme.

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Bernard Madoff

WSJ: Madoff Was Beaten In Prison

Justin Elliott | March 18, 2010, 9:12AM

Master Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff was badly beaten in prison late last year, according to a new Wall Street Journal story citing jailhouse sources.

According to the Journal, Madoff, who is serving 150 years for his massive fraud, was assaulted by a man in a dispute over money. An inmate at the prison in Butner, NC, told the paper that Madoff was treated for a "broken nose, fractured ribs and cuts to his head and face."

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Scott Rothstein

Report: FL Ponzi Schemer Wore Wire To Snag Alleged Mobster

Justin Elliott | March 16, 2010, 1:01PM

Scott Rothstein

With his $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme crumbling last fall, a desperate Scott Rothstein agreed to cooperate with the Feds in a sting operation that helped bring down an alleged Sicilian mafioso, according to a remarkable new story in the Miami Herald.

Roberto Settineri was arrested in Florida last week on money laundering charges. On the same day, he was charged in Italy with "extortion, drug trafficking, attempted homicide, and other crimes arising from their alleged affiliation with Santa Maria di Gesù, a Sicilian mafia family," according to the FBI.

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