Jury Convicts Stanford in $7 Billion Ponzi Fraud

Source: New York Times

HOUSTON — A federal jury on Tuesday convicted R. Allen Stanford, a Texas financier, on 13 out of 14 counts of fraud in connection with a worldwide fraud that lasted more than two decades and involved more than $7 billion in investments.

Mr. Stanford listened to the verdict silently, barely tilting his head down while closing his eyes. His mother and other family members wept, while investors watching in the gallery also cried while expressing relief. He now faces a possible life sentence.

The jury decision followed a six-week trial and came three years after Mr. Stanford was accused of defrauding nearly 30,000 investors in 113 countries in a Ponzi scheme involving $7 billion in fraudulent high-interest certificates of deposit at the Stanford International Bank, which was based on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/business/jury-convicts-stanford-in-7-billion-ponzi-fraud.html