By MICHAEL ROTHFELD
R. Allen Stanford, who has gone through a carousel of defense lawyers, an addiction to medication and a jailhouse beating, is now complaining of another malady, a person familiar with the matter says: amnesia.
The former Texas financier says he cannot remember events prior to his arrest in June 2009, the person said.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Texas ordered in January that Mr. Stanford be weaned off anti-anxiety medication and anti-depressants at the recommendation of psychiatrists. The judge declared Mr. Stanford unable then to help defend himself against charges of masterminding a $7 billion Ponzi scheme.
Doctors are expected soon to report back on Mr. Stanford's condition. The judge will decide if the trial can go forward in January. Mr. Stanford's lawyer declined to comment.
Roy Lubit, a forensic psychiatrist in New York not involved in the case, said medication and withdrawal are unlikely to cause memory loss. "If it's being cut back at a reasonable pace, that shouldn't stop them from being competent," he said.
Dr. Lubit and Colin Koransky, a forensic psychiatrist in California, both said a head injury—Mr. Stanford suffered one in the beating—could cause amnesia for recent events but is unlikely to affect older memories.
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