R. Allen Stanford, the Texas financier accused of running a $7 billion investor fraud, will be represented by the federal public defender's office in his criminal case because he has no money to hire an attorney.
Kent Schaffer, a private-practice lawyer in Houston who attended Tuesday's hearing at that city's federal courthouse, said afterward he will work with the public defender's office on Stanford's case.
Stanford, who denies all wrongdoing, was brought to court in shackles from jail, where he is being held until trial on charges he bilked investors in a "massive" Ponzi scheme involving certificates of deposit at Antigua-based Stanford International Bank. The head of the Stanford Financial Group was ranked the 205th-richest American in 2008 by Forbes magazine, which estimated his net worth at $2 billion.
Regulators and investors have fought attempts to unlock legal defense funds from Stanford's seized assets, which were frozen by court order on Feb. 17 when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused him of investor fraud. Stanford is also being denied access to his company's liability insurance policy, after the court-appointed receiver claimed those funds may be needed to defend Stanford's companies against lawsuits.
Stanford's previous attorney, Dick DeGuerin, has estimated it will cost more than $20 million and take a year to prepare for a trial that could last six months. Stanford faces spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted of the most serious of 21 felony counts against him.
Showing posts with label Dick DeGuerin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dick DeGuerin. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 September 2009
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Stanford in hospital with rapid heart beat
Allen Stanford, the accused swindler, was rushed to hospital from his prison cell in Texas at 5.50am, Dick DeGuerin, his lawyer, confirmed today.
The Texas-born financier and cricket impresario was taken to Conroe Regional Medical Center with a rapid heart rate of more than 300 beats a minute.
Mr Stanford, 59, faces charges, which he denies, of defrauding US investors out of $7 billion (£4.3 billion), and was recently denied bail on the ground that he represented a flight risk.
He has been sharing a cell with about ten inmates at a prison in Conroe, Texas, where he has complained of the "intolerable" conditions with temperatures reaching 38C (100F).
"They have almost non-existent medical care there. A fellow cellmate almost died with rapid heart beat several weeks ago," he said.
Mr DeGuerin was speaking on his way to a court hearing at 9am that was due to include Mr Stanford.
The lawyer is seeking to withdraw from the case because, among other reasons, he has yet to be paid.
"I don’t think the hearing can go ahead in Sir Allen’s absence," he said.
Meanwhile, James Davis, Mr Stanford's former finance director, pleaded guilty to fraud charges when he appeared in court today.
The Texas-born financier and cricket impresario was taken to Conroe Regional Medical Center with a rapid heart rate of more than 300 beats a minute.
Mr Stanford, 59, faces charges, which he denies, of defrauding US investors out of $7 billion (£4.3 billion), and was recently denied bail on the ground that he represented a flight risk.
He has been sharing a cell with about ten inmates at a prison in Conroe, Texas, where he has complained of the "intolerable" conditions with temperatures reaching 38C (100F).
"They have almost non-existent medical care there. A fellow cellmate almost died with rapid heart beat several weeks ago," he said.
Mr DeGuerin was speaking on his way to a court hearing at 9am that was due to include Mr Stanford.
The lawyer is seeking to withdraw from the case because, among other reasons, he has yet to be paid.
"I don’t think the hearing can go ahead in Sir Allen’s absence," he said.
Meanwhile, James Davis, Mr Stanford's former finance director, pleaded guilty to fraud charges when he appeared in court today.