Billionaire Stanford surrenders
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 20, 2009 00:00
DALLAS - Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, chairman of the troubled Stanford Financial Group, surrendered to FBI agents in Virginia Thursday afternoon.
Officials said Stanford is in custody after surrendering in Stafford, Virginia. Authorities plan to unseal an indictment charging Stanford on Friday, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A grand jury in Houston has been investigating Stanford Financial Group. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges earlier this year accusing Stanford and his top executives of conducting an $8 billion fraud by advising clients to buy certificates of deposit from the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank.
Stanford has maintained his innocence. Dick DeGuerin, Stanford's attorney in Houston, told The Associated Press that Stanford "surrendered this afternoon to some FBI agents who were hiding out in black SUVs outside the residence where he was staying in Virginia."
"He walked out and asked if they had a warrant," DeGuerin said. He said Stanford told them to arrest him if they had a warrant and said if they didn't he would go back to Houston Friday to turn himself in.
Laura Pendergest-Holt, chief investment officer of Stanford's parent company, is facing criminal charges of obstructing the SEC's investigation by lying about her knowledge of the firm's activities.
"We heard the grand jury has been active, and we fully expect indictments," her attorney Jeff Tillotson said. "We ... deny that our client has committed any crime."
He has said she was "set up" by Stanford. The SEC said in a lawsuit filed in February that Stanford International Bank advertised its CDs in a brochure touting a conservative investment philosophy. But instead the Stanford bank's portfolio was "misappropriated by Defendant Allen Stanford and used by him to acquire private equity investments and real estate," the complaint says.
A grand jury in Houston has been investigating Stanford Financial Group. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges earlier this year accusing Stanford and his top executives of conducting an $8 billion fraud by advising clients to buy certificates of deposit from the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank.
Stanford has maintained his innocence. Dick DeGuerin, Stanford's attorney in Houston, told The Associated Press that Stanford "surrendered this afternoon to some FBI agents who were hiding out in black SUVs outside the residence where he was staying in Virginia."
"He walked out and asked if they had a warrant," DeGuerin said. He said Stanford told them to arrest him if they had a warrant and said if they didn't he would go back to Houston Friday to turn himself in.
Laura Pendergest-Holt, chief investment officer of Stanford's parent company, is facing criminal charges of obstructing the SEC's investigation by lying about her knowledge of the firm's activities.
"We heard the grand jury has been active, and we fully expect indictments," her attorney Jeff Tillotson said. "We ... deny that our client has committed any crime."
He has said she was "set up" by Stanford. The SEC said in a lawsuit filed in February that Stanford International Bank advertised its CDs in a brochure touting a conservative investment philosophy. But instead the Stanford bank's portfolio was "misappropriated by Defendant Allen Stanford and used by him to acquire private equity investments and real estate," the complaint says.