by Patsy R. Brumfield/NEMS Daily Journal
James M. Davis, former chief financial officer for the failed Stanford Financial Group Co., will be sentenced Jan. 22 in Houston, Texas, for his admissions in the $7.2 billion scandal.
Davis once lived in Union County and worked out of Stanford offices in Tupelo and Memphis.
In September 2009, he admitted to his part in helping his boss, R. Allen Stanford, carry out a years-long Ponzi scheme on some 20,000 investors worldwide.
Scores of Mississippians were among the victims and have yet to receive any compensation for their losses of life savings and retirement funds invested in certificates of deposit through his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd.
Many of the investors say they were assured by local financial advisers that their investments were federally insured. They were not, and debates continue in court and on Capitol Hill about who should assist victims.
Before Davis’ sentencing, victims may send written statements or ask to speak to the court.
A court-appointed receiver seized all Stanford and other defendants’ assets to liquidate for a victims fund.
Davis faces up to 30 years in prison but said he hopes for leniency as the government’s key witness against Stanford.
Last March, a jury found Stanford guilty of masterminding the scheme in Houston, where he built his financial empire more than two decades ago.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced him to 110 years in prison. Hittner also will sentence Davis in Houston.
Laura Pendergest-Holt, a Baldwyn native, was Stanford’s chief investment officer. She admitted to obstructing a federal investigation of her employer and is serving a three-year term in prison.
Last week, another jury found guilty two other former Stanford executives. They have not been sentenced. Davis was a key witness at their trial.
Showing posts with label sentence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sentence. Show all posts
Thursday, 29 November 2012
Friday, 22 June 2012
A former top lieutenant to imprisoned financier R. Allen Stanford pleaded guilty Thursday in Houston to obstructing the Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry that led to the downfall of his global empire. Laura Pendergest-Holt, 38, spoke in a soft, tremulous voice as she answered a federal judge’s pointed questions about her role in the multibillion-dollar fraud. She was chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group, an international financial services company based in Houston. “I knew I was delaying the SEC,” she told U.S. District Judge David Hittner, providing the only real drama in the half-hour court hearing. hlt stanf In return for her guilty plea, and her agreement to forgo any appeal, the government said it would drop the remaining 20 criminal charges against Pendergest-Holt. Prosecutor Jason Varnado recommended a three-year prison sentence. The obstruction charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Hittner accepted the guilty plea and announced a Sept. 13 sentencing hearing. In the meantime, federal probation officials will prepare a pre-sentence report for the judge. Pendergest-Holt, attired in a black pantsuit, white jacket and flats, was allowed to remain free on bond. She left the courtroom in the company of her husband and attorney.
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
URGENT! Submit your Comments to Prosecutors on Pendergest-Holt proposed Lenient Sentence
Below are the court papers for the Plea Bargain of Prendergast Holt. The court is asking for our comments about this. PLEASE, we don't have much time but it is imperative that we send emails expressing our disgust at this light sentencing. REMEMBER....we have already served 3 1/2 years and we still have many years to go before we can see any sign of freedom from our forced poverty. WE need to make clear to Judge Godbey that it is grossly unfair for PH to walk away with such a lenient sentence and we also need to request that she forfeit all her property, and money...after all it was the victims who paid for her lifestyle!!
PLEASE NOTE THIS HAS TO DONE TODAY!!!!!!!!!
On June 18, 2012, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a Notice of Setting indicating that on June 21, 2012, at 11:00 a.m., the defendant Laura Pendergest-Holt is expected to plead guilty to resolve the pending charges against her in the above-referenced case. At that time, Holt will enter into a plea agreement with the government pursuant to Rule 11(c)(1)(C) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Under that rule, the government agrees that a specific sentence or sentencing range is the appropriate disposition of the case, or that a particular provision of the Sentencing Guidelines, or policy statement, or sentencing factor does or does not apply. Such a recommendation or request binds only the court once the court accepts the plea agreement at sentencing. To resolve the pending charges against her, the defendant Laura Pendergest-Holt is expected to plead guilty to Count Twenty of the Indictment, charging Obstruction of Justice, and the government has agreed that a sentence of 36 months of imprisonment, followed by a three-year term of supervised release, is the appropriate disposition of the case. She will also be subject to a fine, to be determined by the Court.
In light of this recent development, and in order for us to learn if you have any views in regard to any such plea, please submit your views to the prosecutors handling this investigation, by providing comments to Pam Washington at 1-888-549-3945 or via email at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov, no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on June 20, 2012. Also, in accordance with the Order Authorizing Compliance with the Justice for All Act issued in this case on June 16, 2010, any victim wishing to appear and to be heard by the Court at the plea hearing must notify Pam Washington at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov by the same June 20 deadline. However, as the defendant Laura Pendergest-Holt is pleading guilty under Rule 11 (c)(1)(C), and her plea agreement will not be accepted until the time of sentencing, the government will continue to accept comments concerning the plea after the June 20 deadline and up until 30 days before sentencing. The Court will later rule on whether, and the manner in which, victims may be heard at the sentencing proceeding. Lastly, because this plea agreement was reached recently, and because the precise language of the plea agreement is still being finalized, the executed plea agreement will be filed publicly following the June 21, 2012 hearing.
Kate
Thursday, 14 June 2012
Allen Stanford Sentenced to 110 Years in Prison
By Walter Pavlo,
Dressed in green prison fatigues, R. Allen Stanford entered a federal courthouse in Houston today to hear U.S. District Judge David Hitner pronounce his prison sentence. The decision: 110 years.
Prosecutors had asked that the one-time billionaire financier get 230 years in prison. (note: Bernard Madoff is serving 150 years). The prosecutor told Judge Hitner, “230 years will not get anyone their money back but on sleepless nights they will know that he got the maximum.” I think 110 years will give them just as much comfort.
During the proceeding, Stanford’s attorney, Ali Fazel, objected to the use of the term “Ponzi scheme,” but Hittner said the evidence at trial justified the use of the term. It’s not like Stanford could be any more insulted. The prosecutors also compared him to Bernie Madoff. That too caused Fazel to speak up on behalf of Stanford by saying of Madoff, “he didn’t invest time in anything.” Not sure what he was going for with that comment but I took it that Stanford worked harder at his fraud than did Madoff.
Speaking on his own behalf, Stanford recounted his last three years, including his beating in September 2009. The best that he could say as a compliment for those who prosecuted him was, “I wouldn’t wish this on them.” While he acknowledge that he felt sorry for depositors, employees and his own family for the failure of Stanford Financial, he managed to slip in, “I’m not a thief,” and, “I never defrauded anyone.” Victims in the courtroom, all dressed in black, begged to differ.
The prison sentence represents a long fall from the once knighted Antiguan, who has been in prison since his arrest in June 2009. Declared indigent by the court, all of Stanford’s assets were frozen and he was represented by a public defender. In March, Stanford was found guilty of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme. However, his road to the courthouse was not without controversy. First, there was that strange interview on CNBC in which Stanford proclaimed his innocence. Then Stanford sued Lloyd’s of London, the underwriter of Stanford Financial Group’s Directors and Officers insurance, to pay for his legal fees. In the end, Lloyd’s won and Stanford got the legal help of public defenders Ali Fazel and Robert Scardino.
Stanford learned that prison can be a difficult place to live. Long before being tried in court, Stanford was severely beaten by another inmate. He was hospitalized and later transferred to a federal prison medical facility in Butner, NC, as result of an addiction to anti-depressants, which he developed after the beating. The trauma, his lawyers claimed, left their client unable to remember anything. After a year’s delay in heading to trial, government psychologists determined he was faking it and set a court date.
In January, just 12 days before Stanford’s trial was to begin, Fazel and Scardino wanted out of the case on the grounds that budget restrictions were hurting their ability to defend him. Prior to that, a number of supporting groups and expert witnesses for the defense said that they too wanted to quit because they were not being paid by the government. Eventually, some money was released and Stanford was off to trial.
With all of this drama, there still has been no distribution of the funds that have been seized by the government to victims who had invested their savings with Stanford in the hopes of incredible returns on safe (certificates of deposit) investments. The trial and the prison sentence will bring some closure, but the restitution to investors will come up a little short. With regard to the losses for U.S. taxpayers? We will be paying for Stanford’s prison stay and his future legal fees. Stanford is planning to appeal and the court will be giving him a new public defender.
Stanford’s most memorable statement was, “If I live the rest of my life in prison …. I will always be at peace with the way I conducted myself in business.” He can think about that one for a while.
My thanks to Twitterers Ronnie Crocker and CNBC’s Scott Cohn, who gave us all updates during the sentencing.
Dressed in green prison fatigues, R. Allen Stanford entered a federal courthouse in Houston today to hear U.S. District Judge David Hitner pronounce his prison sentence. The decision: 110 years.
Prosecutors had asked that the one-time billionaire financier get 230 years in prison. (note: Bernard Madoff is serving 150 years). The prosecutor told Judge Hitner, “230 years will not get anyone their money back but on sleepless nights they will know that he got the maximum.” I think 110 years will give them just as much comfort.
During the proceeding, Stanford’s attorney, Ali Fazel, objected to the use of the term “Ponzi scheme,” but Hittner said the evidence at trial justified the use of the term. It’s not like Stanford could be any more insulted. The prosecutors also compared him to Bernie Madoff. That too caused Fazel to speak up on behalf of Stanford by saying of Madoff, “he didn’t invest time in anything.” Not sure what he was going for with that comment but I took it that Stanford worked harder at his fraud than did Madoff.
Speaking on his own behalf, Stanford recounted his last three years, including his beating in September 2009. The best that he could say as a compliment for those who prosecuted him was, “I wouldn’t wish this on them.” While he acknowledge that he felt sorry for depositors, employees and his own family for the failure of Stanford Financial, he managed to slip in, “I’m not a thief,” and, “I never defrauded anyone.” Victims in the courtroom, all dressed in black, begged to differ.
The prison sentence represents a long fall from the once knighted Antiguan, who has been in prison since his arrest in June 2009. Declared indigent by the court, all of Stanford’s assets were frozen and he was represented by a public defender. In March, Stanford was found guilty of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme. However, his road to the courthouse was not without controversy. First, there was that strange interview on CNBC in which Stanford proclaimed his innocence. Then Stanford sued Lloyd’s of London, the underwriter of Stanford Financial Group’s Directors and Officers insurance, to pay for his legal fees. In the end, Lloyd’s won and Stanford got the legal help of public defenders Ali Fazel and Robert Scardino.
Stanford learned that prison can be a difficult place to live. Long before being tried in court, Stanford was severely beaten by another inmate. He was hospitalized and later transferred to a federal prison medical facility in Butner, NC, as result of an addiction to anti-depressants, which he developed after the beating. The trauma, his lawyers claimed, left their client unable to remember anything. After a year’s delay in heading to trial, government psychologists determined he was faking it and set a court date.
In January, just 12 days before Stanford’s trial was to begin, Fazel and Scardino wanted out of the case on the grounds that budget restrictions were hurting their ability to defend him. Prior to that, a number of supporting groups and expert witnesses for the defense said that they too wanted to quit because they were not being paid by the government. Eventually, some money was released and Stanford was off to trial.
With all of this drama, there still has been no distribution of the funds that have been seized by the government to victims who had invested their savings with Stanford in the hopes of incredible returns on safe (certificates of deposit) investments. The trial and the prison sentence will bring some closure, but the restitution to investors will come up a little short. With regard to the losses for U.S. taxpayers? We will be paying for Stanford’s prison stay and his future legal fees. Stanford is planning to appeal and the court will be giving him a new public defender.
Stanford’s most memorable statement was, “If I live the rest of my life in prison …. I will always be at peace with the way I conducted myself in business.” He can think about that one for a while.
My thanks to Twitterers Ronnie Crocker and CNBC’s Scott Cohn, who gave us all updates during the sentencing.