Pendergest-Holt sentence due Thursday for Stanford crime

by PATSY R. BRUMFIELD/Daily Journal

HOUSTON, Texas – Baldwyn native Laura Pendergest-Holt is set for sentencing Thursday for her attempts to obstruct the investigation of a Ponzi scheme at Stanford International Bank Ltd. Holt was chief investment officer at Stanford Financial Group based out of Memphis, with offices in Tupelo, when the entire Stanford financial empire came crashing down in 2009 under the weight of a federal investigation. Her boss, R. Allen Stanford, was convicted last March of masterminding the scheme, which cost worldwide investors $7.2 billion. He is serving a 110-year prison sentence. In a deal with the government, Holt pleaded guilty June 21 to one count and faces up to five years in prison. Her deal recommends three years. She’ll appear before District Judge David Hittner for a 9:45 a.m. hearing in Houston, where Stanford built his empire. Co-defendants Mark Kuhrt and Gilbert Lopez, former Stanford executives, are set for trial there starting Sept. 28. Read more: djournal.com - Update Pendergest Holt sentence due Thursday for Stanford crime