Stanford Ruled Incompetent to Stand Trial

Source: Dealbook nytimes

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the jailed Texas financier R. Allen Stanford was incompetent to stand trial at this time on charges that he ran a $7 billion Ponzi scheme.

Judge David Hittner in Federal District Court in Houston ordered Mr. Stanford to be treated for drug addiction at a federal prison hospital. The judge denied a defense request to place Mr. Stanford in a private hospital for treatment, saying he is considered a flight risk.

“The court finds Stanford is incompetent to stand trial at this time based on his apparent impaired ability to rationally assist his attorneys in preparing his defense,” Judge Hittner ruled.

But in ruling against the motion to place Mr. Stanford in a private hospital, the judge noted that the Texas financier had previously been denied requests to be released on bail ahead of his trial.

“It is not lost on the court that Stanford’s motion to be released to a local mental facility for treatment may be yet another attempt by Stanford to be released on bond,” Judge Hittner wrote. “The court’s finding that Stanford is incompetent, however, does not alter the court’s finding that Stanford is a flight risk and that no combination of conditions of pretrial release can reasonably assure his appearance at trial.”

Mr. Stanford was arrested in 2009 on charges including securities fraud and money-laundering. He is accused of selling billions of dollars in fraudulent certificates of deposit through the Antigua operations of the Stanford Financial Group.

That same year, while in jail, Mr. Stanford suffered a head injury after being attacked by another inmate. Since then, Mr. Stanford has been taking anti-anxiety drugs and antidepressants. Defense lawyers have argued that Mr. Stanford is mentally unfit to stand trial, although doctors disagree whether his mental state is a result of possible brain damage from the head injury or over-medication from the drugs.

Judge Hittner also ordered that Mr. Stanford’s head injury be evaluated for possible further treatment.

In an interesting twist, the judge suggested that one prison hospital that might be suitable for Mr. Stanford was the Federal Medical Center in Butner, N.C. Among the inmates at the Butner federal prison is the convicted swindler Bernard L. Madoff, who ran a far-larger Ponzi scheme than the one Mr. Stanford is accused of operating.

Ruling on Stanford's Competency