The saga of Stanford Financial Group, Stanford International Bank and R. Allen Stanford
Federal regulators claim Texas-born financier R. Allen Stanford ran a multibillion-dollar fraud at his offshore bank and Houston brokerage, which are now under court-ordered receivership.
At the heart of the matter were high-yield CDs, more than $8 billion worth of them, that the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges Stanford marketed as part of an illegal Ponzi scheme.
Stanford, associates James Davis and Laura Pendergest-Holt and others have been criminally indicted for their roles. All have pleaded not guilty, although Davis is expected to enter into a plea deal with federal prosecutors.