by Patsy R. Brumfield/NEMS Daily Journal
James M. Davis, former chief financial officer for the failed Stanford Financial Group Co., will be sentenced Jan. 22 in Houston, Texas, for his admissions in the $7.2 billion scandal.
Davis once lived in Union County and worked out of Stanford offices in Tupelo and Memphis.
In September 2009, he admitted to his part in helping his boss, R. Allen Stanford, carry out a years-long Ponzi scheme on some 20,000 investors worldwide.
Scores of Mississippians were among the victims and have yet to receive any compensation for their losses of life savings and retirement funds invested in certificates of deposit through his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd.
Many of the investors say they were assured by local financial advisers that their investments were federally insured. They were not, and debates continue in court and on Capitol Hill about who should assist victims.
Before Davis’ sentencing, victims may send written statements or ask to speak to the court.
A court-appointed receiver seized all Stanford and other defendants’ assets to liquidate for a victims fund.
Davis faces up to 30 years in prison but said he hopes for leniency as the government’s key witness against Stanford.
Last March, a jury found Stanford guilty of masterminding the scheme in Houston, where he built his financial empire more than two decades ago.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced him to 110 years in prison. Hittner also will sentence Davis in Houston.
Laura Pendergest-Holt, a Baldwyn native, was Stanford’s chief investment officer. She admitted to obstructing a federal investigation of her employer and is serving a three-year term in prison.
Last week, another jury found guilty two other former Stanford executives. They have not been sentenced. Davis was a key witness at their trial.
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