R. Allen Stanford appeared ill during a court appearance Wednesday as lawyers discussed possible trial dates for him and others accused of running a $7 billion fraud.
Stanford was thinner than in previous appearances. He spit blood into a water cup while sitting in court. Senior U.S. District Judge David Hittner asked Stanford if he needed attention, but he said he was all right.
“It's some sort of illness, we're not sure what,” said his lawyer, Kent Schaffer . He said his client speaks to no one but prison guards and his lawyers, and it's taking an emotional and physical toll.
Stanford has had surgery for an aneurysm in his leg since he was jailed and was hospitalized after a fight with another inmate. He is being held without bail as a possible flight risk because of international connections and ability to get funds.
Schaffer complained about Stanford's treatment in the downtown Houston Federal Detention Center, saying he's held in solitary confinement, isn't getting adequate medical attention and can't see or phone his family.
A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons could not be reached for comment on that claim.
Stanford, a Texas native who has lived mostly in the Caribbean for many years, founded Houston-based Stanford Financial Group. He faces 21 counts of conspiracy, fraud, bribery and obstruction of justice.
He and co-defendants are accused of cheating investors who bought certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank on the Caribbean island of Antigua, and sold through Stanford Financial Group companies.
Three of Stanford's codefendants are free on bail and wore street clothes for Wednesday's court hearing, while their ex-boss sat nearby shackled and in green jail clothes.
Lawyers on both sides estimated the trial could take four months. Prosecutor Gregg Costa asked for a trial date no later than next October.
Research time a concern
But defense lawyers said they haven't had time to dig into the government's 5 million pages of documents and need weeks before they even know when they can be prepared for trial.
Mike Sokolow, the public defender appointed to handle Stanford's case, officially withdrew Wednesday. Schaffer, a private lawyer also appointed, said he will stay on now that a Dallas judge overseeing a civil fraud case against Stanford and others has said an insurer can pay for their defense.
Others likely covered
Stanford's criminal co-defendants who appeared in court Wednesday — former Stanford company executives Laura Holt, Gilbert Lopez and Mark Kuhrt — also should be covered by the company insurance policy.
Costa said the fifth defendant, Leroy King, a bank regulator in Antigua, is under house arrest there and the government hopes he will be extradited in time to participate in the trial.
Showing posts with label public defender. Show all posts
Showing posts with label public defender. Show all posts
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Thursday, 17 September 2009
Billionaire Stanford Gets Public Defender In Fraud Case
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.
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.