A federal court jury in Houston today found R. Allen Stanford, former chairman of Stanford Financial Group of Houston, guilty of 13 of 14 criminal counts against him. Jurors found him not guilty of one count of wire fraud. Also, the jury found Stanford guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud only on the count of conspiracy to commit mail or wire fraud.
A jury in Senior U.S. District Judge David Hittner’s court returned the verdict. The jury of four women and eight men began deliberations on Feb. 29.
Stanford faced 14 criminal charges in connection with an alleged conspiracy to defraud investors who bought about $7 billion in certificates of deposit sold through Stanford International Bank (SIB).
Prosecutor Gregg Costa, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Texas, declined comment immediately after the verdict.
Defense attorney Robert Scardino, a partner in Scardino & Fazel of Houston, says Stanford will seek a new trial. Scardino declines further comment due to a gag order in the case.
The charges against Stanford include one count of conspiracy to commit mail or wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an SEC proceeding, one count of obstruction of an SEC proceeding, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Opening statements in the trial were Jan. 24.
Because the jury found Stanford guilty of at least one count, the jury will consider a request from federal prosecutors for Stanford to forfeit money on deposit in about 30 bank accounts. That civil proceeding will begin this afternoon.
-- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
What does it mean for the victims?
Posted by: Jackie | March 08, 2012 at 11:43 AM