By Andrew Harris and Laurel Brubaker Calkins - Feb 23, 2012
Morris Hollander, an accountant testifying at R. Allen Stanford's trial,
told a jury he saw no sign of fraud in annual reports issued by the
financier's Antigua bank.
"I see no evidence that indicates there was any fraudulent financial
reporting contained in those reports," Hollander said during his second day
of testimony for the defense in the trial at the U.S. courthouse in Houston.
Hollander, a partner in the international accounting firm Marcum Group LLP,
told the court while his testimony was based on those reports, he hasn't
seen underlying accountant work papers from which financial figures in those
reports were derived.
The financier, who has been on trial since Jan. 23, is fighting a cold that
has forced the early adjournment of the trial each of the past two days.
Stanford has been in court for the entirety of today's proceedings.
Challenged Testimony
Federal prosecutors, led by Andrew Warren, repeatedly challenged Marcum's
testimony today, prompting U.S. District Judge David Hittner to reiterate
that Hollander's recitation of figures from Stanford financial records are
admissible only for the fact they were said and not for their objective
truthfulness.
Still, based upon a consolidated statement of Stanford business holdings in
December 2008, the financier held more than $9 billion in assets, Hollander
testified.
Warren greeted Hollander on cross-examination late today with the question,
"Hypothetically, if I tell you I have a trillion dollars in my pocket, how
much money do I have in my pocket?"
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